Making the Ultimate Sacrifice

On Wednesday, a memorial service was held honoring the three Baltimore firefighters who died in the line of duty last week. Thousands of first responders from across the country gathered to pay tribute and say goodbye to their three fallen comrades.   

Baltimore fire Lt. Paul Butrim, Lt. Kelsey Sadler and Firefighter/Paramedic Kenny Lacayo were battling a fire at a vacant rowhome in southwest Baltimore when they became trapped as part of the building collapsed.   

Putting your life on the line for others is an incredible act of courage. We are in debt to those who risk their safety for us. This is a moment of sadness for the entire community. It is heartening to see the outpouring of support for the families of the fallen firefighters. The GBMC family stands united with them.  

Healthcare workers have put their safety on the line as well during the pandemic, especially before we had vaccines. We must all be thankful for the courage of first responders and all who risk their safety to serve and protect others.   

We extend our deepest sympathies to the family, friends, and colleagues of the firefighters who died in this tragic event. 

The surge is abating
The number of new cases of COVID-19 caused by the omicron variant has dropped precipitously. Let me thank all my GBMC colleagues for your fabulous work during this most recent surge. Let me also thank our Incident Command Team (ICT), led by our Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Jack Flowers and Cate O’Connor-Devlin RN, BSN, Director of Emergency Preparedness, Safety, and Security. The ICT did a marvelous job of overseeing our response and in using our core competency of redesigning care to adjust to changes in the environment.  

Over the last several weeks, the ICT was key in helping us open three COVID testing centers to take the pressure off the ED. They worked with the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) and the Maryland National Guard, to open a state-run testing site on our campus.  

Give Blood…It’s Vital!!
Currently, blood banks in our state and across the nation are running low on units of blood. The impact of pandemic-associated blood drive cancellations and a host of other coronavirus-related circumstances have worsened the nationwide shortage of blood.  Blood donation is vital to our ability to care for surgical patients, those who’ve suffered traumatic injuries, and patients who need blood because of illnesses such as cancer.  At this time, all time slots are filled for our upcoming blood drive on Thursday, Feb. 10 from 5:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  in the Civiletti Conference Center. However, if you’re still interested in donating you can put your name on a wait list by contacting Cristie Nickel, our Community Relations and Events Specialist, at CNICKEL@gbmc.org  Donating blood s is easy, it doesn’t take much time, and you will literally be helping to save lives!  If you can’t donate during our upcoming blood drive, please visit here to register for an event at another location or mark your calendars for our next blood drive on Thursday, May 19 . Thank you!