URI College of Nursing staff, faculty members and students across all departments are dedicating themselves to helping during the COVID-19 health crisis we are all facing. Here, we highlight their work in their own words. Know someone helping out who should be recognized? Email their information to patrickluce@uri.edu.

My name is Bridget Montle and I am a senior nursing major at URI, graduating in May. Throughout the school year I work as a Patient Care Technician in the Emergency Department at South County Hospital and as an EMT Cardiac at Charlestown Ambulance Rescue Service. 

Since the start of the pandemic, I have been picking up extra shifts to help out where I can on the front lines. Whether it is on the ambulance or in the ED, we are the first point of contact for many COVID-19 patients. This has definitely changed our day-to-day operations and how we go about patient care to ensure staff safety. On the ambulance I’ve helped to make sure we have enough PPE in stock so that if we have a surge, we have enough to get us through. At the ED, I have been spending some time as a COVID-19 screener in triage, making sure patients who are symptomatic or at risk flow through the ED properly. 

I wasn’t planning on having my senior year cut short by a pandemic. But I’ve never been so proud to be on the front lines, making a difference every day. I have the most amazing coworkers at both South County Hospital and Charlestown Ambulance Rescue Service. The teamwork and resiliency my coworkers show lets me know we’re going to come out stronger on the other end of this. Stay safe!