EMT with Local Ties Assists with COVID Outbreak in NYC
By: Sally Zegers
One of the factors helping New York City struggle through the worst days of the COVID 19 pandemic was the use of EMTs from across the country, some of whom had received their training in Broome and Delaware Counties, including Kaitlin Gorton, a young woman with local ties. She is the daughter of David and Judy Franskevicz Gorton of Greene, and the granddaughter of Doug and Jill Gorton of Hale Eddy and the late Edward and Mary Franskevicz of Hancock.
Kaitlin, who graduated from Greene Central School, got her EMT-Basic card through a class held by Delaware County in 2018. “I soon realized how much I enjoyed doing volunteer EMS for Delhi Fire Department and decided to apply to go to paramedic school at SUNY Broome,” she tells the Herald, choosing an “accelerated path” which consisted of doing the two year degree program in one year. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, her classes went on-line, and she took the opportunity to deploy to NYC.
“I deployed to NYC and brought my laptop and was able to do my classes in the ambulance between 911 calls,” she said, even taking her midterms while deployed. She received an A.A.S in Para-medicine this summer as well as a Certificate in Para-medicine. After you successfully complete the program you take a New York State Skills exam and a New York State written exam. When you pass both of those you receive your New York State EMT-P card.
Kaitlin, who works for the Cooperstown branch of American Medical Response (AMR), deployed to New York City in the last week in March, staying until the first week in May, a total of 35 days. AMR has a contract with FEMA for national disasters.
The company deployed seven employees in the beginning, including Kaitlin: Mark Rossley, who was Kaitlin’s partner for the duration of the 35 days, Nathan Owens, Nick Marquez, Nick Keever, Brad Darling, Mike Nelson. “We did switch some employees during the deployment and Amanda Leffingwell came down to work as well,” Kaitlin says. She was housed at a Hotel in Queens.
The City had one official case by March 1, a health care worker who had returned to her home in Manhattan after a visit to Iran. However, genomic tests have shown that the virus was already in the City in February. By April, New York City had more confirmed COVID cases than were reported in China. By April, NYC accounted for 25 percent of all the COVID 19 deaths in the United States. Refrigerated trailers were parked around the City for use as makeshift morgues to handle the number of dead, and television sets across the country brought the apocalyptic scenes into everyone’s living rooms.
“At first I was terrified of catching the virus,” Kaitlin says, but she quickly adjusted to the new normal. “After a few days it became routine and natural with the PPE.”
During the pandemic the city was a ghost town, she recalls. “There was no traffic, minimal people in the streets. At one point my posting spot in NYC was in Bronx directly in front of Yankee Stadium. It was empty and quiet.”
If the city itself was quiet, the caseload was not. “In the beginning of the deployment we handled an overwhelming amount of people experiencing Covid-19 symptoms,” she says. “The first two weeks I spent in NYC I was covering South Bronx, the last weeks spent there I was covering Queens. We handled everything from Covid-19 symptoms, mental health calls,injuries to basic lift assist.” It was different than EMS in Delaware County because of call volume, which ran to 10+ calls in a 12-hour shift.
As for the PPE, Kaitlin says she was never short of the life preserving items. “We had access to PPE and I never fell short of it. FEMA had a stock for the deployed units. My company back home also mailed me a box of N95 masks and I was able to purchase an N100 mask for use in the city.” She is brisk and often understated: “I think my parents were worried. They kept reminding me to wear my PPE, and I was in contact with them daily while I was deployed.”
By May, the number of cases in the City had declined. Before she returned home from NYC, she was tested for Covid-19 in Queens, and then again tested in Delaware County when she got home. Both results were negative, meaning Kaitlin did not have to quarantine at that time. Kaitlin became an EMT by volunteering for her local fire department in Delhi. Shawn Kauffman, who is an RN and Paramedic convinced her that she would like it take a ride on the ambulance. “He was right,” she says with a laugh. Delhi FD was able to send me to my basic class held by Delaware County
where she was taught by Margaret Wilson. “The opportunities I was given through Delaware County is the reason I became a paramedic. Shawn Kauffman and Dan Endress helped me learn and are the reason I wanted to continue my pre-hospital education.” Kaitlin urges people to volunteer for their local fire departments and ambulance squads, saying they will get a lot out of it.
Kaitlin says her future plans are to continue to get experience and continue her education to become a Flight Paramedic. She volunteered for the NYC duty “as an opportunity to travel, meet new people, help a struggling neighbor, and to learn.
“If FEMA does another deployment, I would sign up to be deployed again,” she said.
No one knows what future opportunities there might be for deployment. Kaitlin notes that colleges have reopened, and many people are assuming that there is no longer a risk. “The CDC guidelines for wearing masks, social distancing and gatherings have been loosely followed by many recently so we’ve seen an increase in positive cases, Otsego County being an example.”
Kaitlin isn’t optimistic about a quick return to normal life, saying: “I don’t foresee life going back to normal for at least another year until a vaccine is developed and safely ready for use. I know I’ve heard a lot of concerned people say if a vaccine comes out, they will not be getting it or having their children receive it due to risk of it being a new vaccine with side effects. It might take some time before the public is safe again.”
In the meantime, it’s nice to know there are dedicated professionals ready and willing to risk their lives to save ours.
