Kids are all right
Thanks to nurse
When the coronavirus crisis swept into New York City, Bency Mathew had a big problem on her hands.
As director of nursing services for inpatient programs at St. Mary’s Hospital for Children in Bayside, Queens, Mathew is in charge of some of the city’s most critically ill and fragile kids.
“Exposure to any sort of infectious process will become very much detrimental for them,” Mathew, 37, told The Post.
The hospital, an acutecare facility for about 124 children, immediately went into “protective mode,” and typical visitation ground to a halt.
That left Mathew with the difficult job of keeping the kids entertained — while remaining apart from them herself — and making sure they’re able to communicate with loved ones who can no longer visit in person.
She makes sure they have bedside iPads and the ability to connect with their family virtually whenever they want. She’s also tried to bring some “normalcy” to their day-to-day lives by implementing socially distanced music-therapy programs, movie nights and games.
She has also set up virtual birthday parties for the kids, with staff bringing in cakes and singing “Happy Birthday.”
“My role, I believe, is to see the brighter side of things, to be able to guide staff through those hard times . . . and remind them of why we do what we do,” Mathew said. “I signed up to do what I’m doing here at St. Mary’s to really give back . . . I will get up every day to do what it takes to support that population.”