NEW ORLEANS — Testing for the coronavirus is one of the most important tools to contain it, and one of the labs that conducts the tests is in New Orleans.

“This is such a big deal for everyone. We have to get this right,” Ellen Rushin told WGNO. Rushin is the Sales Operation Manager for Stone Clinical Laboratories on Baronne Street. Stone provides testing equipment in cities around the country, trains testing site workers, and analyzes the results. For her work, Rushin is our Healthcare Hero of the Day.

Rushin says that Stone typically conducts tests on blood to determine wellness and maintenance levels. But just like the spirits distillers in the city that have pivoted to make the much in demand hand sanitizer, Stone is focused on one thing.

“We shut that down so we could focus just on the Covid-19,” Rushin said.

Somewhere between the trips to train testing site workers and everyday life, Rushin herself contracted the coronavirus.

“I found out I had it and then waited for the symptoms, and they never came,” she said. “So you do a lot thinking during that time, and I think it’s the same kind of thoughts that people have who are worried about getting exposed.”

Recovered now, Rushin is back at her office on Baronne or on the road. She says that between her work and her recovery, she has a new appreciation for the old normal and the new one.

“It makes you appreciate people more. It makes you appreciate your loved ones more, your neighbors.”

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

Healthcare Hero of the Day is Sponsored by Schonberg Care.