KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When the COVID-19 pandemic hit New Orleans and overwhelmed hospitals, Kelly Ringle joined her coworkers from Research Medical Center and 200 nurses from HCA Midwest to head south.
Eight months later, Katie New and her coworkers from Tulane Medical Center returned the favor.
On Wednesday, Ringle and New reunited virtually to reflect on the past year.
“There were some hard times and having somebody that was going through the exact same thing that you could lean on and empathize with you and be strong when you weren’t able to or vice versa, you can’t put into words,” New said.
“Exactly, I completely agree,” Ringle said. “I mean, you always hear about teamwork and how important it is and all of that, but when it comes down to the wire, that’s the only thing that keeps you going.”
With cases lower than earlier in the pandemic, New and Ringle said they hope people will get vaccinated and continue to social distance and wear masks so they can go back and revisit each other’s city under different circumstances.
