METAIRIE, LA — The Covid-19 pandemic has tested hospitals and their medical teams in the New Orleans area. One of the nightmare scenarios is if a relative drops off a loved one at a hospital and that person dies. Due to safety protocol, there’s a chance that no family members will ever see the person again once they enter the hospital.

Watching the virus win is one of the most difficult things for medical teams to endure. And early in the response, many hospitals adopted procedures to make sure family member did get to see their sick loved ones before the end of their lives.

“There the patients are allowed to have visitors, and the focus is on their comfort,” Dr. Jennifer Meyer told WGNO.

Meyer is the Medical Director of Hospice Group at East Jefferson General Hospital. For her work with coronavirus victims who are at the end of their lives, she’s a Health Care Hero of the Day, sponsored by Schonberg Care.

“And the reunions as you can imagine have been incredibly emotional because some of these patients have not seen friends or family in weeks,” Meyer said of the visits.

East Jefferson General Hospital brought in an outside hospice agency with workers from five states to help operate the hospital’s inpatient hospice unit.

For more of Meyer’s story, click on the video at the top of this page.