For Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus (MMCSC) frontline staffers Jenna Whitman, Physician Assistant Director, and Victoria Belvin, RN, it has been second nature to work alongside their co-workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The only thing that could stop them: the fast-approaching delivery dates for their babies.
Jenna, 32, a Wall resident, has worked in the Emergency Department at MMCSC for nearly eight years. She has a toddler at home and was late in her pregnancy when the crisis began.
“At first it was definitely anxiety-provoking, but after that you’re like, ‘You know what? This is what I signed up for. This is what I love to do,’” Jenna says.
“I wasn’t going to jump ship, and neither did anybody else who works at the hospital,” she says. “Everybody was running away from this virus, but we were running right toward it. As scary as it was, that was cool to see.”
Victoria, 29, a Brick resident, usually works in the Endoscopy Suite at MMCSC. With many elective surgeries postponed, she was asked to support the Command Center, the vital center of operations at the hospital since mid-March.
“Most of my loved ones wanted me to stop working,” explains Victoria. “My doctor was nervous because there was no protocol in place with this new virus.” Still, she persevered. “It was scary, but everyone at the hospital was amazing,” she says. Victoria’s baby, her first, was due May 28.
Jenna, whose baby girl was due in late June, acknowledges that there were tough times. “When you’re far along in your pregnancy, you’re barely breathing normally as it is,” she says. “Then you’re hustling around wearing this N95 mask and you’re wondering how long you can do this.”
Jenna’s husband, Craig, a former Wall police officer, got a new perspective on his wife’s work. “All those years, she was scared about what I was doing at work, so it was very eyeopening to see it from the opposite side,” he says. “But I had all the faith in her that she was going to follow her training and be safe. She seemed very confident about it.”
Victoria’s husband, Scott Berger, also knew he had a supportive role to play. “As a husband and soon-to-be new father, I felt helpless in being able to keep her safe,” he says. “But I know she has an important job to do. There are a lot of people who need help.”