Showing Solidarity

June 1, 2020

Earlier this spring, as Johns Hopkins Medicine temporarily halted elective surgeries and redeployed some units to the COVID-19 front lines, the situation for the outpatient hepatobiliary surgery and surgical oncology teams remained mostly status quo.

Several members of a surgery unit line the walls of a hospital hallway to take a group selfie.
The Johns Hopkins HPB surgery and surgical oncology teams weren’t able to join their colleagues on the front lines during the pandemic’s early days, but they showed their support with a group donation to the COVID-19 response fund.

“We have patients who have aggressive gastrointestinal malignancies and pancreatic cancers, and that hasn’t changed because of the pandemic. While we haven’t seen as many patients in the clinic, we haven’t seen our volume of work decrease,” says Lindsey Manos, the lead advanced practice physician assistant on the team. “We know how exhausting that work can be, and we wanted to show our solidarity and appreciation for what they were doing.”

After their team discussed a variety of options, she and colleague Ellen Birkenthal coordinated a donation drive. The entire 10-person team participated, making a $250 donation to Johns Hopkins’ COVID-19 relief fund.

“We wish we could all join them,” says Manos, who incidentally began serving in one of the COVID ICUs in early June. “It’s a small way to show our support and gratitude.”

Topics: Friends of Johns Hopkins Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Promote and Protect Health