14 minute read
SHINING A LIGHT : ALPHA PHIS STEP UP by Gina Henke
When the COVID-19 pandemic changed the landscape for all of us with regard to health and well-being, education, social gatherings, recreation and work, it did not change Alpha Phi’s commitment to one another and our high ideals.
For Alpha Phis, the Big Dipper is an important icon. Part of the constellation Ursa Major, the stars in the bowl of the big Dipper point to the North Star — a star that always appears in the same place in the sky, acting as a positional beacon and giving us a sense of direction. Despite how the world is changing, Alpha Phis are standing strong for themselves and for others. There are many members who are performing essential work — so many more than we have pages in this magazine to feature — and we thank each of them for giving generously of themselves. We are proud to be your sister.
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SARAH HARTENSTEIN PATTERSON
As the curator of birds and mammals at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park, Sarah
Hartenstein Patterson (Iota
Delta-Rhode Island) is responsible for those animals and the staff caring for them. Since the pandemic has impacted every aspect of life, the animal population is feeling the effects as well. Her department consists of 56 different species of birds and mammals, many of which are conservationally significant. In light of the changes brought about by the pandemic, Sarah and her team work to ensure their animals still receive excellent care. They are split into separate shifts so that if someone gets sick there are still teammates able to care for the animals. “Without guests in the zoo, social animals and animals that would have participated in encouters have been looking to their caretakers to provide them with additional attention,” said Sarah. Innovation and character are the ideals Sarah most draws on right now. “Because so many of the species that we work with are conservationally significant, it is imperative that we continue to provide exceptional care for these individuals today, to continue our work to see these populations through to the future,” said Sarah. “As a manager, you always strive to set high expectations and to set an example for others to follow. This becomes increasingly complicated when only half the staff is working at a time, and you have not been able to see the other half of the team for several weeks. As a team, we make things work because the lives of the animals under our care depend on us doing so. We come up with creative ways to continue to go beyond the basics, because the quality of care that we provide is their quality of welfare, and they deserve the best. While the expectation of excellence in care will never change, it will be nice to return to a normal when we can all be together face-to-face to work to achieve it.”
Brooke Thadeus
BROOKE THADEUS (ETA LAMBDA-GEORGE MASON) has volunteered for Annandale Christian Community for Action for the last 10 years and is also a patient access associate for Inova Medical Group. As a volunteer, she stocks shelves and delivers groceries to those in her community in need of food. Especially now, when many are losing income and the ability to comfortably provide for their families, having the ability to provide access to food is something Brooke is proud to do. At her job, Brooke triages calls for an outpatient primary care office so that patients are able to reach the appropriate provider. Now more than ever, she has been able to help those who may be fearful about their situation and provide comfort by sharing resources they need. She helps simply because she is able to and by helping those most vulnerable, she improves their well-being. It gives them the opportunity to help others in-turn. “The high ideal of membership I can most relate to right now is Innovation because there will always be people who need assistance, and I always want to find a way to help them no matter what situation. At this time, I have found that in some ways I may have to change how I work or interact with others, but the goal remains the same, which is to ultimately help those in need anyway I can,” said Brooke.
Alexis Abbott
ALEXIS ABBOTT (THETA LAMBDA-CENTRAL MISSOURI) has volunteered her time to make masks to donate to local hospitals in need of cloth face coverings.
SHINING A LIGHT KYNDAL IRWIN,
BSN, RN
KYNDAL IRWIN (GAMMA
IOTA-TEXAS TECH) is an Alpha Phi House Corporation board member and a registered nurse at Lubbock Plastic Surgery Institute and took a leave of absence to assist COVID-19 relief efforts in New York City. Like many volunteering their medical services, Kyndal spent 21 days away from her family and friends working in New York. The unit she was placed into is one that treats patients with dementia and traumatic brain injuries. The majority of these patients have been there for multiple years. The patients were Kyndal’s number one priority. Since their families could not visit them, it was important to be there to support them. The nurses exuded innovation and generosity in their patient care, Kyndal said, finding new ways to care for patients and putting themselves in the line of the virus to protect others. “The character of all of these nurses is just remarkable. Every nurse here is wanting to make a difference and is here to better the NY community and to be here for the patients. We all just want the patients to be taken care of and cared for how we would want our family members to be cared for. We also want the staff at all of these hospitals to be able to have a breather from the stress of their jobs since they have been putting in countless hours since this pandemic began.” DESTINEE BAUCUM DESTINEE BAUCUM (GAMMA XI-WICHITA STATE) is a chapter advisor at Wichita State and traveled from Kansas to New York to assist during the pandemic. Pictured here, center in scrubs and jacket, with her local medical colleagues before leaving to provide weeks of nursing support and care to patients in hard-hit New York, she volunteered to go because she felt, “a calling to help the people of NYC and bear witness to this pandemic with [her] own eyes.” She also wanted to show the women she advises that it is important to follow their hearts and dreams. Before she made the trek to New York, the support of the Panhellenic community made Destinee’s journey preparations easier. Sally Seguro, a Gamma Xi alumna, put Destinee in touch with fellow Gamma Xi Kathy Webb, who helped her take the necessary legal steps to ensure Destinee had a living will and power of attorney documents ready in case Destinee became ill while caring for patients in New York. Without asking for anything in return, these alumnae wanted to help. They provided services to help with Destinee’s journey to help in New York, which Destinee says this brought much happiness to her heart and reminded her that sisterhood is for life! “So far this experience has made me appreciate my loved ones more. Seeing how fast this virus can take a hold of someone has truly humbled me,” said Destinee.
Mackenzie Corbin, RN
MACKENZIE CORBIN (GAMMA ETA-NORTH TEXAS) is a nurse at Medical City Heart and Spine Emergency Department and has been caring for patients for 12 years. She says this virus outbreak has been stressful, more so than the Ebola scare. Mackenzie’s world at work has changed and so has her world outside work. She has acted as a resource, sharing factual information with family and friends as she tries to calm their fears. She has sewed fabric mask covering for members of her church and her family. Mackenzie has offered to give COVID-19 presentations at her daughter’s daycare before they were closed through shelter in place orders. She has struggled like all healthcare workers, terrified that she may get sick or take the virus home to her husband or toddler. She wants to huddle close with her family, she wants to care for her patients, she wonders if she is doing the most appropriate procedures amidst the ever-changing protocols. The mental load is heavy; yet, the silver linings are there. The support she and her colleagues are giving each other right now is bonding them closer together. Mackenzie’s mother and sister have stepped up to help care for her daughter so she and her husband can work, which gives her daughter special time with her relatives she would not otherwise have. Generosity is the Alpha Phi
ideal she most relates to right now, and she is giving it with grace. One of her patients came into the ER with congestive heart failure and tested positive for COVID-19. The patient was alone, as no visitors were allowed inside the hospital in order to slow the spread of the virus. As the patient cried and asked about the future, Mackenzie did the thing she knew was right. She took the patient’s hand and said she would do everything she could do to pull the patient through.
ERIN LANGLEY
ERIN LANGLEY (BETA ZETA
IDAHO) is a graduating senior studying exercise, sport and health science, and she works at Gritman Medical Center. The facility, like many other hospitals, has set up outdoor tents to test and help triage patients who present with any respiratory problems or exposure concerns related to the virus. Erin has been volunteering to work in these tents to register patients as a way of supporting other hospital staff and their families, patients and her community by reducing risk of unnecessary exposure. Even during these times, it’s important that people still have safe access to regular, necessary healthcare, and the tent system allows for that. “With the events happening in the world and in my community, I am identifying most with our ideals of innovation and character. It’s been amazing to witness the ways our hospital and clinics are constantly improving methods and taking new measures to be able to continue to serve the community in a safe and effective manner. It’s been inspiring to see my coworkers step up and fill positions, even if it puts themselves at risk, which shows their true character. I’ve noticed my local community stepping up to show support to health care workers and each other, and I’m so proud to be part of it.”
The Forget-Me-Not Fund Today
AT THE TIME OF PRINT, 45 Alpha Phi sisters, including 35 collegians and 11 alumnae, have received Forget Me Not grants to support them in the wake of COVID-19. Alpha Phi Foundation is committed to supporting members during times of hardship and continues to receive requests for Forget Me Not grant aid. During this pandemic, many sisters are experiencing loss of income and housing, losing the ability to meet their most basic needs. For some, recent challenges are coming on top of an already difficult situation, like a medical crisis or death in the family. The Forget Me Not Fund will continue to support sisters as we navigate this uncertain time together.
Read about the origins of the of the Forget Me No Fund on page 14. For more information about the Fund, please contact Alpha Phi Foundation at programs@alphaphifoundation.org. “I am very grateful to be a part of Alpha Phi and I continue to learn more and more about what this sisterhood truly is. I never thought I would be applying for emergency funds and that my sorority’s international foundation would be the one to carry me through this difficult time. I really look up to all of the passionate and successful women in Alpha Phi, and I know that this is not just a sorority I’m in for four years of my college life, but a sisterhood and strong organization that I am a part of for life.”
— AN ALPHA PHI SISTER
JULIANNA WASHINGTON
JULIANNA WASHINGTON (OMEGA-TEXAS) teaches 6th grade math at Kennedy Curry Middle School in Dallas as part of Teach For America. She is working in a school that is ranked 2,045 out of 2,122 middle schools in Texas, and many of their testing scores are nearly 25 percent below the average. Frequently, her students do not have access to technology or the internet. Some do not even have regular access to running water, and nearly 90 percent rely on some sort of school-provided meals. All of this makes physically-distanced learning more challenging than ever. That said, Julianna has been hard at work all year helping her students grow and improve. On a mid-year assessment, her students surpassed the school passing average grade by over 20 percent. She is committed to their continued success and so Julianna spent the first three weeks after their spring break calling nearly 80 of her students and their families in an effort to help them gain access to computers and internet hotspots from the school. She also let them know when the school would be providing meals for students to have at home. Making use of virtual learning resources, she is putting in extra hours and she knows her students are sometimes being tasked with extra responsibilities during this time, especially as parents’ work requirements change. She is passionate about encouraging them, keeping them connected and trying new ways to help close the learning gap. “I can most closely relate to our ideal of innovation right now because we have had to switch entirely to online learning. We have had to create an entire classroom experience through Google Classroom and make it quality education. We have had to adjust and find a way to be accessible to teach and help students in an effective way, all through a cell phone or computer screen.”
Luanne Thomas Ewald
LUANNE THOMAS EWALD (ETA MUMARQUETTE) is the Chief Operating Officer at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital. In addition to managing operations at both facilities and working to keep staff, patients and families well, she was asked to serve on the leadership team to open a Field Hospital in Ann Arbor. The field hospital would have been set up at the University of Michigan Performance Center indoor track, but Luanne and the team were grateful the “Stay Home. Stay Safe.” initiatives helped flatten the curve of cases and made opening unnecessary at this time. The plans for the field hospital will serve well for any future surges or disease outbreaks.
The team consisted of military trained physicians and nurses from Michigan Medicine. Southeast Michigan has been hit hard with COVID-19 patients and so overflow hospital areas were developed to meet the demand. “It is also privilege and a calling,” said Luanne. “I am thankful to be able to work to help children, women and families on a daily basis, and it was a privilege to be asked to work on a Field Hospital to help the citizens throughout the State of Michigan. I am proud to be a part of this team who consistently puts our patients and families at the forefront. Always.” She is embracing all of Alpha Phi’s ideals during this time. Luanne has witnessed the generous spirit of front-line workers and has seen doctors, nurses, administrators and security teams show the depth of their character through their selfless action. She and her colleagues have been part of wonderful developments and innovations that came about because of the pandemic, and now some of these will be part of the normal operations going forward. “Throughout the pandemic, I have remained in constant contact with my Alpha Phi sisters through text messaging and Zoom virtual get-togethers. I’ve also watched my daughter communicate with her Alpha Phi sisters via Zoom and other social media outlets. Our bonds are always important, but in times of uncertainty, we need to be supporting each other and communicating with each other more and more.”
