COVID-19: Volunteering in the U.S.
Boehringer Ingelheim employees across the U.S. are out in their communities making a difference to help improve the lives of those who have been impacted by the coronavirus.
Volunteering on the front lines to help COVID-19 patients
Dr. Robb Kociol
“The experience was highly meaningful, very emotional and surreal at the same time. I felt compelled to come and help. I was scared to death but I really felt I could contribute. And I was very grateful to BI for the opportunity to volunteer in New York City during such a critical time.”
As a licensed, board certified advanced heart failure physician and transplant cardiologist, Dr. Robb Kociol, Executive Director, Medical Expert, CDMA, Cardiovascular Metabolism, watched as the COVID-19 crisis unfolded in New York City and felt compelled to help. Acting on this sense of responsibility, Dr. Robb volunteered to serve as a front-line healthcare provider at a major hospital in the heart of NYC.
For five, 13-hour shifts and one 13-hour overnight shift, Robb worked alongside doctors, nurses, interns, and other hospital staff in the COVID ICU units, helping patients fight the disease and comforting those who would ultimately succumb, alone and secluded from their families and friends. And in the midst of all the chaos, sadness and fear, Robb also experienced the best of human nature. He saw people coming together to support healthcare workers with donated meals, places to stay, and gratitude. He saw hospital staff coming together and working as one cohesive unit to take care of the patients. “I was struck by how egalitarian the health system was,” he said. “Interns adjusted ventilators, nurses’ duties were done by attending physicians and vice versa. Everyone worked together.”
Working together…within BI and out in our communities. We’re thankful for our BI employees, like Robb, making a difference to help improve the lives of those who have been impacted by the coronavirus.
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Relieving Food Insecurity during COVID-19
Aaron Graham
“If you have the opportunity to do something, do it. All you need to do is help one person, because they will be inspired to help someone else – and then you will have started a powerful chain of effects that can't be created through anything other than the act of human kindness.”
Aaron Graham, Executive Director of Brand Safety and Security in Ridgefield, CT, is dedicated to protecting and caring for others in every aspect of his life, both professionally and personally. Once he began to witness the hardships people in his community were facing as a result of COVID-19, he knew he wanted to help in any way he could. When BI announced its partnership with Sodexo to prepare and donate meals to those in need, he raised his hand to get involved and began volunteering with Food Rescue US to deliver these meals to Danbury Public School students whose families are struggling with food insecurity in the face of the pandemic. He also personally helps to distribute the meals to the students' families. The experience has touched Aaron in more ways than he could count. He says the most rewarding part is the look of appreciation he witnesses as the meals are given out. “Throughout this time, I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes from Kate McGahan: 'Deep within every crisis is an opportunity for something beautiful,'” says Aaron. “The look on these parents' faces is the very definition of beautiful.”
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“I’m so blessed, so lucky that Boehringer Ingelheim gave us the opportunity and support to do this,”
Lea Rowe and Hillary Kaufer, field sales representatives in New York, together with their manager and coworkers, Dario Solano, Tony Girardi, Paul Shields, and Vivian Lindner are working with the nonprofit CommonPoint Queens to pick up and deliver prepacked meals to homebound seniors twice a week.
Being able to provide a week’s worth of healthy, balanced meals to people who can’t get out and shop for themselves is rewarding, but for Lea and her co-workers, it’s so much more than that. “These people are lonely and really need human connections,” Lea says. “Sometimes, they just call me to chat, and I’m happy to listen.”
Hillary also finds purpose and meaning in the work she’s doing – one delivery at a time. “There are so many people that need help and it can get overwhelming when you think about it. But I know that if I can do something, for just one person, I’m making a difference.”
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Neighbors helping neighbors
Heather Dubrosky, from the Congress and Meetings Management Group, along with a few friends, partnered with the nonprofits Operation Hope and Bridgeport Rescue Mission to start a contactless food drive. “Families and people from all walks of life are struggling,” Heather said.
Every weekend, Heather and her crew are out accepting donations – in fact, this weekend marks the tenth one in a row. And in that time, they have collected more than $4,200 in gift cards donations, along with bags and bags of food, toiletry items, and personal care items.
And like the other volunteers, Heather finds her experience personally rewarding. “It’s just a few hours of time every week for me,” said Heather, “But it means a pantry full of food and dinner on the table for families affected by this crisis.”
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Helping the island of Kauai, Hawaii, to become self-sutainable
Aileen Adamos, a Respiratory Business Specialist from Kauai, Hawaii is working with Malama Kauai, a non-profit organization whose mission is to help the island of Kauai become self-sustainable, especially with regards to food supply.
Aileen helps local farmers, who are suffering economically during the island’s mandatory lockdown, fill out grant applications and find various sales opportunities for their produce – all with a goal of ensuring the people of Kauai get nutritious food on their tables.
“When I talk to a farmer, I really listen to their stories and see where I can fill a need,” says Aileen. “Talking and learning about them has been humbling. When I can help them, I feel internally rewarded.”
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“…when has anything ever stopped us?”
A story about volunteering on the front line in New York City
“I stay inspired by knowing that there are so many good people out there who have sacrificed to help NYC, and other areas hit particularly hard by COVID-19. Whether it be donating funds, supplies, or their time…in a period when people may have felt divided…we are not.”
Dr. Nicole Schroeder
As Dr. Nicole Schroeder, a New York City-based Medical Science Liaison for the Boehringer Ingelheim Pulmonary Fibrosis Team, realized how serious the COVID-19 pandemic had become in NYC, at first, like many, she was scared. “Any time I left my apartment, I risked getting sick, or worse, if I was infected, I risked spreading the virus myself,” she said. “I was scared for my family, for other families and for friends who were in the thick of the pandemic.”
But soon another feeling began to overcome her fear – a sense of responsibility to apply her 7 years of acute care experience and training to help the city she loves so much. “Although I had not stepped into an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for almost 2 years, I felt this instinct to just want to be there. I felt compelled to move my fear aside and find a way to help out.”
When New York State put out a call out for retired health care workers to join the COVID-19 efforts, Nicole answered. She volunteered to serve as a hospital clinical pharmacist at Bellevue, a public hospital in the heart of Manhattan that typically cares for the disadvantaged and underserved citizens of the city. “The surge at Bellevue’s ICU at the peak of the pandemic was over 130 beds - the hospital usually has 60,” Nicole said.
As a hospital clinical pharmacist, Nicole manages the medications for COVID-19 patients, making sure they are getting the
correct drug, dose, duration, and indication. “My shift normally consists of participating on ICU morning rounds supporting the ICU team, caring for 10-15 patients on mechanical ventilation support,” said Nicole.
While her experience has, at times, been frightening and emotional, she’s been amazed to see the commitment of the hospital staff and the many other volunteers from all over the U.S. “You do your shift, get in your car and you cry,” said Nicole. “But despite how hard it can be, it’s also been the most humbling experience to work with all these self-less health care professionals.”
Now, Nicole sees a light at the end of the tunnel. She remains in awe at the resiliency of the city and its ability to bring people together, united in their effort to make a difference. “I stay inspired by hearing all the success stories of patients going home to their families to the sound of Alicia Keys’ ‘New York State of Mind’ as they leave the halls of Bellevue Hospital and by the city’s nightly cheering and cowbell serenade for the healthcare workers,” Nicole reflects. “When this is all over, the New York City I love will once again be alive. It might be bustling a little differently, but when has anything ever stopped us?”
Whether they’re making use of the additional 10 Paid Time Off days offered by the company or donating their personal time on the weekends, each of these volunteers are thankful to Boehringer Ingelheim. “I’m so blessed, so lucky that we have the opportunity and support to do this,” says Lea.