Heroes of COVID-19

Informed by the Mission and Core Values of Holy Family University, many members of the University community have met the challenges that have resulted from the pandemic to help others in need. Utilizing what they have learned from their experiences at the University, these individuals have answered the call of service represented by the University’s motto,teneor votis (“I am bound by my responsibilities”) to support their communities during these incredibly diffi cult times.

Before the pandemic, Feast of Justice in Mayfair was already one of Philadelphia’s largest food pantries. But since March 2020, the organization has faced the upsurge in demand for food head on, increasing the number of people it serves across 10 Northeast Philadelphia ZIP codes by 275 percent with the assistance of 138 volunteers, including 96 who had started volunteering after the start of the pandemic. By early December, Feast of Justice had distributed over a million pounds of food in response to COVID-19 food shortages.

associate vice president of Student Life, is the current president of the Feast of Justice Board of Directors and is in his fourth year on the Board. Over the past several months, he has seen the distribution operations of Feast of Justice radically change in response to strict safety precautions.

“Before COVID, our guests would come into our pantry and they would select the food items as if they were shopping,” McNulty-Bobholz explains. “Once COVID happened, we had to convert to a touchless protocol.” Th e organization has adopted a system in which guests now pick up boxes of food items from the building with minimal contact.

While the methods in which Feast of Justice serves the community have changed, its mission has not. McNulty-Bobholz continues, “We partnered with many non-profit organizations within the Philadelphia area, including Philabundance, and became available distribution sites for food. As we matured in that program, we wanted to make sure that we were still serving our guests with healthy options, choices, and information and alternative services that are available through our program, such as counseling.”

The shift to new protocols was assisted by many new volunteers to support the efforts of Feast of Justice. “I think people are really trying to find ways to give back to their communities,” McNulty-Bobholz remarks. “I’ve had a few people at the University ask how they can get involved. If they can’t volunteer, donations have always been another way to help, and we have been a benefactor to many donations from new donors.”

Junior Psychology major Matt Shiber ’22 is a member of the Student Government Association and a Resident Advisor at Holy Family. In addition, for almost two years he has worked at Martin’s Food & Drugstore in Rising Sun, MD as he also continues his studies virtually at Holy Family University.

With grocery stores serving as one of the main sources of food, cleaning supplies, and pharmaceutical necessities for the public throughout the pandemic, Shiber has seen many aspects of his job significantly change. For example, local ordinance and company policies substantially altered the safety guidelines for store employees to protect the health and safety of their coworkers and customers.

While working, Shiber is required to adhere to the standard safety precautions — wear a mask at all times, stay six feet apart from coworkers and customers, and undergo temperature screenings.

“The whole dynamic has changed. Usually when you go to work in a grocery store setting, it’s very social — people are always talking as you run into people you regularly see,” Shiber explains. “It’s been heavily impacted by the virus,” he adds.

Shiber began working at Martin’s as a cashier and remained in that role during the initial stage of the pandemic that resulted in panic buying at supermarkets across the nation. In June, he became a Produce Associate and typically works afternoons and evenings stocking the shelves and cleaning that department. He realizes that his role is to “get people the supplies that they need,” though customer interactions can sometimes become stressful. Still, other customers have helped to relieve the added stress. Shiber says, “Recently on a day that I was a little behind, a customer took a second to say, ‘Merry Christmas. I know that everyone in the store is very busy, but thank you for all that you continue to do,’” Shiber shares. “Many customers have expressed thanks and have been generous with compliments. Taking the time to say ‘Thank you for everything’ to a college student makes it all worthwhile.”

The jobs of countless nurses and health professionals with degrees from Holy Family University have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with many directly caring for patients who contracted the virus. Among the many University students and alumni who have been on the front lines of caring for patients with COVID-19 is Marissa Pietrolungo, MSN ’18, who works as a cardiac intensive care nurse at Temple University Hospital.

During the initial surge of the pandemic, Pietrolungo volunteered to work on the COVID floor of the hospital’s Boyer Building to relieve the constant demand on her fellow nurses. Her exhaustive efforts to care for her patients resulted in the American Academy of Nursing honoring her with its COVID-19 Courage Award. She is only one of four nurses in the United States to receive the prestigious honor.

Holy Family University has played a significant role in Pietrolungo’s nursing education. After graduating with a BSN from Widener University, Pietrolungo graduated summa cum laude from Holy Family University with an MSN degree. She will be graduating from the University once again with a Doctor of Nurse Practice, Family Nurse Practitioner degree in February 2021. She also teaches as an adjunct professor in the Nursing program.

The Temple University Lewis Katz School of Medicine profiled Pietrolungo in June and detailed her work as a full-time volunteer in the COVID-19 ICU at Temple University Hospital. She began volunteering in March to help alleviate the patient load and continued until July 2020, when the COVID floor closed and she returned to the cardiac intensive care unit.

Pietrolungo faced challenges daily on the COVID floor, including having to complete tasks above and beyond her regular duties as a nurse because of restriction rules for who was allowed in the COVID ICU because of infection concerns. In particular was a moving story about Pietrolungo comforting a dying patient while trying to care for the needs of two other patients at the same time all while sweating under multiple layers of protective equipment to ensure her own health and safety during her long hours on the COVID floor.

After reading the profile of Pietrolungo, Dr. Karen Huss, a program director in the National Institutes of Health, submitted a letter to the American Academy of Nursing, a national organization made up of over 2700 nurses who have been recognized for extraordinary achievements in healthcare, to nominate Pietrolungo for the COVID-19 Courage Awards. The special award was created by the organization to honor the “courageous, compassionate, and creative contributions of nurses” during the pandemic. In the letter, Huss praised Pietrolungo’s “strength and firmness of mind in the face of danger,” and held up her “strong dedication and industriousness” as strong criteria for her candidacy for the honor. In October, the Academy announced that Pietrolungo was one of four recipients nationwide for the COVID-19 Courage Awards, with Pietrolungo receiving hers in the category of Leadership. As an example of Pietrolungo’s leadership, Huss’ letter cited how Pietrolungo encouraged her nursing colleagues to volunteer with her and reassured them that health and safety precautions were being taken to enable them to do their jobs.

“As a graduate of Holy Family University’s Master of Nursing Science Program and current student in the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program, Marissa Pietrolungo embodies the true Core Values of the University through her work on the front lines addressing the needs of patients and peers alike,” said Dr. Cynthia Russell, Dean of the School of Nursing and Allied Health Professionals. “The COVID-19 Courage Award in Leadership from the American Academy of Nursing represents the highest honor for her service during these challenging times.”

Reflecting on the time she spent volunteering on the COVID floor, Pietrolungo recalls the challenge of balancing her life as a full-time student and full-time volunteer. “On some days I had to stop and think, ‘Today I’ll be writing a paper, tomorrow I’ll be volunteering on the COVID floor.’” Even with the recognition of her leadership, Pietrolungo still feels she could have done more. “Truthfully, what stands out is that I feel I wasn’t doing enough,” she recalls.

She credits her colleagues in her cohort, Asia Kemp, MSN ’18 and Lindsey Mickens, MSN ’18, with whom she will be graduating in February, for helping her stay grounded. Regarding the stress of the last several months, Pietrolungo says, “It feels like you’re never going to get through it, but you find your core group to help pull you through.”

To our first-year students who never stepped foot on campus to experience our vibrant campus life, to our seniors whose graduation march at the Kimmel Center was unceremoniously halted, and to our faculty and staff who worked tirelessly and graciously to build technologies, teaching skills, and resources to ensure that every University operation functioned optimally in a new, remote way: You are our heroes. Your tremendous efforts in the face of unprecedented challenges are our proudest collective achievement. We applaud your stamina, your perseverance, and your belief that the Holy Family University family is worth it.