A look back with Westchester County’s Public Health Nurses

On March 3, Westchester County was brought to its knees by the worst pandemic in our nation’s history – COVID-19. One of the country’s first true epicenters of the virus was in New Rochelle. Chevon Jones, Caitlin Doyle-Goldsmith and Kathy Gomez, all Westchester County Public Health Nurses, were the first three nurses to respond to the pandemic in the New Rochelle containment zone. As the County prepares to mark the one-year anniversary of COVID-19 in Westchester, the nurses take a look back on what the past year has been like for them, as well as share their hopes for putting the pandemic behind us.

You may also go to YouTube to watch this short video, One Year Later: The Coronavirus Pandemic.

Westchester County Executive George Latimer said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has changed life as we know it in Westchester County. 2020 was a difficult year, and we have watched many of our loved ones suffer through this devastating illness. Now that we have access to the vaccine we can only hope for a better and a brighter future for our County, and I know that we will get there, together.”

Jones, Doyle-Goldsmith and Gomez are hopeful that Westchester County will turn the tide on the pandemic in 2021, especially with the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine. The Health Department’s nurses and medical staff have been vaccinating upwards of 1,000 people per day.

Public Health Nurse Caitlin Doyle-Goldsmith said: “It is very rewarding, and I am very grateful that I have a job that lets me participate and help to improve things. I am sure there are a lot of people that want to help and want things to get better, and this is something tangible that I can do. It is been a really difficult time, so it is great to be in a position to be able to work towards things getting better every day.”