Mar 12, 2020 1 min read

When I was a child my mother told me that in the 1930s, between enrollment in nurses training and graduation three years later, about two student nurses from each class of 50 would die from tuberculosis that they acquired from their patients. Later, in 1976, when I was a medical resident at St. Francis General Hospital, I observed the nurses providing personal care to patients who were among the first cases of Legionnaires’ Disease. We had no idea what was the cause of this disease or what the risks were. We did know that in the initial cases it had a very high mortality.

We have seen AIDS, bird flu, swine flu and now the novel coronavirus over the course of my career. In each case nurses and aides and orderlies provide direct personal care for these patients. Each day they risk contracting a potentially fatal illness. I am writing to recognize the dedication and courage of these medical professionals.

James Krebs

Canonsburg