COVID heroes: The Herald News salutes the essential workers who stepped up during the pandemic

FALL RIVER — In a year filled with so much heartache, heroes emerged to help us through the pandemic.

Some were expected — obviously an infectious disease will bring out heroes in the medical field.

But who expected grocery store clerks to be our heroes? Or school nurses? Or grandmothers with sewing machines?

Yet they all helped us through some dark times in 2020. And here is our way of celebrating them.

Doctors

When the coronavirus first hit this region back in March, doctors at Saint Anne's Hospital and Charlton Memorial Hospital were — as expected — on the front lines.

In March, as cases began ramping up, Southcoast Health began putting restrictions in place, stockpiling much-needed equipment and formulating a plan to deal with a surge. Dr. Dani Hackner, Southcoast Health chief clinical officer, said at the time, “We feel very responsible for the staff and community."

More:Southcoast hospitals prepare for coronavirus influx

But who can forget the sacrifices of Dr. Daniel Sousa, a pulmonologist who covered shifts in the ICU unit at Charlton Memorial Hospital, Tobey Hospital in Wareham and occasionally at St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford. He lived for weeks in the "she shed" in his backyard, to keep his wife and three children safe. He said one of the hardest things about working with COVID patients is watching families of dying patients be limited to FaceTime goodbyes. “I never want to go through this again," he said.

More:Fall River doctor on front line of coronavirus fight

But not only doctors on the front lines were forced to adapt. Other physicians found themselves navigating the new world of telemedicine. At Southcoast Health alone, some 1,500 hospital and physician office staffers were suddenly thrust into telehealth programs that allow them to communicate in meetings and video conferences from home.

More:The doctor will see you now — from home

Nurses

From nurses traveling to hard-hit cities, to harried town nurses, to school nurses whose jobs became infinitely more complicated overnight, we covered them all this year. 

Swansea's Felicia Mendonca, a Diman grad, saw the critical need for nurses amid the coronavirus pandemic, and put aside her plans of becoming a nurse practitioner to help out during the crisis as a traveling ICU nurse. Working six days a week, 12- to 14-hour days, she said they typically only get a lunch break as there’s so much going on and the nurses don’t want to step away from their patients’ monitors. In fact, they try not to drink much during their shift, so they don't have to remove all their PPE and redo the whole process over again after a bathroom break. Poor Mendonca broke down in tears during the interview, describing the heart-wrenching scenes she witnessed this year.

More:Fall River native Felicia Mendonca details long days caring for patients in COVID ICU

The town nurse for both Swansea and Somerset, Emily Lachance saw her daily job change significantly since COVID-19. Pre-pandemic, Lachance’s job focused heavily on face-to-face interaction with the community. Giving flu shots. Health counseling. Assisting the Council on Aging with programs like medical equipment loaners. Now, she does a lot of contact tracing. “I’ve learned so much the last six months. Pandemics are funny – you don’t know what you don’t know. I’ve gotten a different perspective on public health.”

More:Town nurse now spends days contact tracing, advising businesses on coronavirus policies

School nurses, faced with a new requirement for students to have a flu shot by Dec. 31, found themselves changing up their routines because of COVID-19. From contact tracing to monitoring students for symptoms, the school nurses were there. “We went above and beyond the DESE guidelines because it doesn’t have to be a nurse or a CNA it just has to be a designated adult,” said Karen A. Long, director of nursing at Fall River Public Schools.

More:Fall River school nurses ready to face back-to-school during pandemic

EMTs

Often the first person a very sick person sees is an EMT, and this year was no different. EMTs began helping out early on at the testing sites. Clad in full-length yellow suits, N95 masks, face shields, goggles and gloves, they were happy to help. “This is super-dangerous work, but our role hasn’t changed. We have to save lives,” said EMS Capt. Robert Camara, the Fall River Fire Department’s infection control officer.

More:Fall River paramedics, doctors join forces at coronavirus testing site

Of course, EMTs faced a time-consuming change in safety protocols. “Another big change,” said EMT Andrew Baptiste, a former middle school substitute teacher in Portsmouth, R.I., "is the screening processes we have to go through at every establishment we go into. It does take a lot more time now on a call than it did in the past which is also understandable."

More:EMT's job seriously impacted by COVID-19 precautions

Those who fed us

When schools closed in March, cafeteria workers stepped up and prepared grab-and-go meals for their students, sometimes hopping in their own cars to drop off meals. In fact, Fall River even stocked nonperishables and toiletries for families in need to stock up when they picked up the lunches. But the same thing happened with churches, and even lunch (and breakfast) in the park thanks to Re-Creation.

More:Fall River churches offering ‘grab-and-go’ meals during coronavirus spread

More:Re-Creation gears up for summer with free lunches, fitness challenge and virtual party

More:Food Network champion chef cooks up special meal for Fall River first responders

Bradford J. Simmons II, of the Simmons Insurance Group, brought Fall River and Somerset, as well as other area towns, his “Feed the First Responder” events, bringing together chefs Brian McElhiney and Eric Eastman, co-owners of the SWAT and Lobsta Luv food trucks, and chef Steven Coe, a two-time “Chopped” winner, to dish out chicken and Portuguese rice with linguica to local police, fire department, medical workers and other first responders.

And Fall River area organizations, businesses, interfaith leaders and volunteers came together to feed the city’s needy, with an “it takes a village” mindset, with the “United We Help Feed Fall River” initiative. Every week, volunteers met at the Thomas Chew Memorial Boys and Girls Club to pack up bags of food and ship them off in the volunteers’ cars to the hundreds of families who needed it. 

More:Fall River volunteers come together to feed families in need

Those who cleaned for us

Perhaps never have the services and dedications of school custodians and maintenance workers ever been more needed and appreciated than this year. Before kids could return to school, custodians put in a lot of back-breaking effort and old-school elbow grease to sanitize the buildings. With students and virtually all staff told to stay home, they’re the ones left with the task of cleaning and sanitizing the schools.

Like the school buildings themselves, the tools are old and modern. Of course, back-breaking effort and old-school elbow grease are necessities. "From top to bottom, our entire operations team has been absolutely sensational in supporting the needs of our schools during Covid19 crisis. I can’t say enough about them - true unsung heroes for the city of Fall River,” said Fall River Public Schools Superintendent Matthew Malone.

More:Fall River Housing Authority keeping it clean to help prevent spread of COVID-19

The same was true at the Housing Authority properties. About a dozen custodians in the maintenance department of the Fall River Housing Authority have been splitting shifts in order to sanitize and clean surfaces on weekends. “There are a lot of great people here, and I would hate to lose anyone,” said Jason Forcier. 

The essential workers

From grocery clerks to pharmacy techs to nursing home staff, delivery drivers to postal workers and package delivery services, the Fall River area gave thanks this year for essential workers. Remember when we even ventured outside this spring to clap and cheer for them?

More:Fall River asked to clap for essential workers

And keep in mind: Many of these essential workers were teenagers, working minimum wage jobs. Somerset's Julyanne Pacheco said “many customers thank us over and over and are very appreciative.” As well she noted several businesses have even provided food and drinks for herself and her co-workers at her supermarket, as a way to say thank you to essential workers.

More:Somerset teens proud to ‘step up’ as essential workers

Family-owned supermarkets such as Auclair’s, Lees Market in Westport, and Trucchi’s Supermarkets have adapted to the changes required by law and common sense in these days of great fear and restriction. And some of those changes, owners and managers have discovered, are ideas that might be worth keeping in place if and when the virus crisis passes or at least chills out a bit.

More:Masks, curbside pickup, extra cleaning: Local markets adapt for the long haul

The mask makers

Stuck inside during lockdown, grandmothers, hobbyists and even children took to their sewing machines to make face masks. In the spring, we probably got contacted two or three times a week about someone making masks. Once the mask mandate was in place, grateful Fall River area residents were quick to scoop them up. "I told my neighbors I’m going to keep doing it as long as people keep taking them,” said 80-year-old Eva Smith of Fall River, who has made more than 2,000 masks since the pandemic began.

More:2,000 and counting: Fall River woman sews homemade masks for anyone who needs one

The businesses who pivoted to PPE

Fall River companies like Merrow Manufacturing, Vanson Leathers, Matouk Linens and U.S. Bedding all turned their production lines around at the height of the pandemic to produce much-needed protective gear. Not only were they keeping frontline workers and first responders safe, they were also keeping their workers employed, a much-needed comfort as many watched friends and family members join the staggering ranks of the unemployed.

More:Fall River companies step up amid coronavirus mask shortage

More:Fall River chemical company making hand sanitizer for the city

Elections officials who kept voters safe

No doubt this election was unprecedented. Fall River and surrounding towns embraced mail-in voting as an alternative in the face of the coronavirus, and the town clerks and elections staff rose to the challenge. In many cases, voting locations were changed to allow for more social distancing. Booths were sanitized between voters and special pens were distributed to ease voters' concerns. And it was not only the national election in November — these hard-working individuals were also able to keep local town meetings (sometimes held outside, even!) running smoothly despite COVID concerns.

More:Fall River voters signing up by the thousands to vote by mail

Last but not least, the teachers (all school staff, really)

When schools were first canceled back in March, we thought it would be just a few weeks. But then the reopening dates kept getting pushed back as COVID cases increased. But students and teachers rose to the occasion, making the best of what at times was a difficult remote learning situation.

Certainly teaching reading and math and history remotely was hard enough. But what about automotive shop classes? 

“You could never replicate the hands-on you do in a shop,” said Maria Torres, Diman Regional Vocational Techical High School’s assistant principal of technical affairs. But, thanks to internet technology, and a lot of on-the-run creativity by educators and students, Diman did  more than just avoiding a backslide. From a plumbing instructor recording videos of himself doing work at his own home, to culinary arts teachers having students upload photos of the meals they prepared, Diman staff got the job done.

More:Diman adapting to challenges of learning trades remotely

Joseph Case High phys-ed teacher Michaela Goncalves’ professional routine changed, with more time on the computer than she was used to in the pre-COVID-19 crisis days. She and  fellow phys-ed teacher Colin Tullson made videos of themselves doing workouts and posting one a day in their Google Classroom. Students were expected to do the workouts and, at the end of each week, fill out a related Google form.

More:Gym teachers using technology to get students moving

Even theater and music classes went online. At Case, Theatre Director Neil Jeronimo had his students take their talent online with YouTube videos of clips from their work. The B.M.C. Durfee High School chorus even found a way to perform "together" in a Zoom-style concert.

Elementary school art teachers had students search around the house for colored objects to fill an improvised color wheel. Principals did their morning announcements via Facebook Live video. Teachers delivered food, cleaning supplies and learning tools to students who needed them. They made packets of worksheets for young students to work on at home. Some even organized drive-by parades to visit the students they missed so much.

For parents and community members alike, it was a joy to behold the selflessness and creativity of school staff across Greater Fall River.