The Orthodox Jewish Nurses Association lends a hand to hard-hit communities.
In addition to working as a Nurse Practioner in the ICU at MedStar Montgomery Medical Center in Olney, Maryland, I am on the board of the Orthodox Jewish Nurses Association (OJNA), an organization that aims to support the unique needs of its members and a member affiliate of the American Nurses Association.
As coronavirus cases escalated, specifically in the New York and New Jersey region, many of our members felt vulnerable with the lack of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE). OJNA, therefore, spearheaded an initiative to obtain and distribute PPE to nurses and other health care providers on the front lines.
To date, we have distributed thousands of N95s, surgical masks, and face shields. OJNA also has been distributing pulse oximeters to at-risk community members and the organization has generated a weekly support Zoom conference call for its members. These Zoom events have featured wide-ranging speakers on the topics of medical updates, psychological support, rabbinic guidance, and perspectives from recovering patients.
Chaya Milikowsky graduated from UMSON's master’s-level entry-Into-nursing Clinical Nurse Leader option in 2010 and earned her Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner/Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist certificate in 2015.