Elaine Suderio-Tirone, assistant professor of Nursing at Mount Saint Mary College and a nurse practitioner at Vassar Brothers Medical Center (green dress), was recently named one of the area’s COVID Healthcare Heroes by the Dutchess County Medical Society.
Elaine Suderio-Tirone, assistant professor of Nursing at Mount Saint Mary College and a nurse practitioner at Vassar Brothers Medical Center, was named one of the area’s COVID Healthcare Heroes on Sunday, July 19, in recognition of her selfless work to save lives.
The Dutchess County Medical Society and guests Marc Molinaro, Dutchess County Executive, and Sue Serino, New York State Senator, recognized Suderio-Tirone and five others at the ceremony. The Mount assistant professor was nominated due to her work in the COVID intensive care unit (ICU) at Vassar. She is a pediatric hospitalist, but was moved to the ICU as the number of COVID-19 patients increased.
“Thank you all for this recognition,” said Suderio-Tirone. “I want to dedicate this to all the ICU nurses and staff who really went above and beyond. I’ve seen it from day one… thank you all.”
Suderio-Tirone’s dedication doesn’t stop when she leaves the ICU. For example, as the number of COVID-19 cases began to rise in New York this spring, she recruited her teenage daughter, her brother, and her sister-in-law to help her make cloth facial coverings. A typical day for Suderio-Tirone and her family – for about a month straight – was to sew from 7 a.m. up to 3 a.m. the following day.
Suderio-Tirone and her team made about 3,000 cloth face coverings. They were sent all over the country, including California, Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia, Virginia, Florida, Massachusetts, and Minnesota. In New York, Good Samaritan Hospital received Suderio-Tirone’s first 50 masks. She sent more to the Dyson Center for Cancer Care, Stony Brook University Hospital, Vassar Brothers Medical Center, area nursing homes, and even community members in need – from post office workers to the elderly.
“It’s good to know that we are able to provide masks and help, in some degree, to slow down the spread of the virus and protect the community,” said Suderio-Tirone.
Suderio-Tirone will resume her teaching duties at the Mount in late August, when the college’s Fall 2020 semester begins.