18
June
2021
|
08:52 AM
America/New_York

New Ribbon Display Honors COVID-19 Survivors

Summary

Each ribbon collected at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital represents a hospitalized patient survivor and the dedication of clinical teams in the fight against COVID-19

After the trials of more than a year of the pandemic, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

As hard as things have been, there are reasons to celebrate—3,339 reasons. That is the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients who have gone home from Carilion hospitals since March 2020 thanks to the work of dedicated care teams.

Last week, Carilion unveiled a display case in the lobby of Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital that contains 3,339 blue ribbons. Each ribbon visually represents a COVID-19 hospitalized patient survivor and the dedication and commitment of clinical teams as they came together and rallied in the fight against COVID-19.

“As sad as this pandemic has been with the loss of people from our community, we can’t forget the number of folks who fought right along with us,” Sandy Harris, nursing senior director, said. “To see those patients go home after their battle was amazing.”

When a patient at Roanoke Memorial is discharged from their virus care, a member of their care team will give the patient a ribbon. They will walk together to the display box, and the patient will drop in the ribbon. Discharge numbers on nearby signage will be updated weekly to show current totals. At Carilion's six other community hospitals, lobby screen artwork also shows the number of unique virus discharges for each facility.

Across the organization, there remains a united fight against COVID-19. Providers ask that the community continue to do their part to prevent additional spread. Check with area health districts and pharmacies to get your COVID-19 vaccine.