Courtesy Photo | West Virginia Army National Guard Sgt. Steven Ernst of Elkins, W.Va., stands outside...... read more read more
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“Always ready, Always there” is proving to be the undeniable truth, not just a motto, for members of the West Virginia Army National Guard (WVARNG) who are serving on the COVID-19 response mission in their hometown hospitals.
“Seeing the difference it makes for nurses in my hometown - who I have known my whole life - makes all the hard work of becoming Soldier worth it,” said Pvt. 1st Class Kristen Denny of Martinsburg, West Virginia, who is working in the Berkley Medical Center in Berkley Springs, W.Va.
“I get to make a difference in my community by taking stress off the nurses so they can focus on the actual medical care of patients,” she said.
The COVID-19 response mission is the first for Denny, who only graduated five months ago, in August 2021, from Army basic training and advanced individual training as a carpentry and masonry specialist.
Army Sgt. Steven Ernst of Elkins, W.Va., however, is a seven-year veteran of the WVNG and has been on the COVID mission since the beginning of 2020.
Despite the difference of time in service between Denny and Ernst the gratification of serving fellow West Virginians is the same.
“I am doing what I joined for…to serve not only my country but my home state,” Ernst said. “That is what it is all about.”
Ernst, a mechanic with Delta 230th Forward Support Company, 77th Brigade Troop Command, has been taking patients’ temperatures and helping with acute care tasks at Preston Memorial Hospital in Kingwood, W.Va.
“Being able to help my local community, right by my house even, is such a fulfilling feeling,” he said. “We are constantly being thanked by the nurses and doctors for coming in to help and that means a lot to me.”
Nearly 300 WVNG members have been assigned to assist hospital staff across the Mountain State with non-medical related tasks as of Jan. 28, 2022. Gov. Jim Justice requested WVNG members fill gaps in hospital staff on January 12, 2022.
As of Jan. 28, 2022, close to 25 hospitals around the state have requested assistance through their county Emergency Operations Center or similar channels.
West Virginia National Guard (WVNG) Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. William “Bill” Crane, promised the governor up to 350 of his troops for hospital assistance. The Guard has mobilized 274 of the promised 350 and is continuing to train and assign Soldiers and Airmen to centers around the state.
“The role of a National Guard member is being exemplified perfectly by our Soldiers and Airmen and will continue to be any time the State of West Virginia needs us,” said Crane.
As it often is, the roles of Guard Members in the medical centers are not glamorous. Denny is working in the environmental services section of Berkley Medical and is tasked with changing sheets and providing clean linen for nurses to use, as well as facilitating the removal of waste material.
“Minor maintenance goes a long way,” she said.
Ernst is tasked for a variety of duties, pitching in to provide relief where he can.
“I don’t have a set role here,” Ernst said. “Wherever I am needed I will go.”
| Date Taken: | 01.28.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 01.28.2022 17:45 |
| Story ID: | 413654 |
| Location: | CHARLESTON, WV, US |
| Web Views: | 73 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Always There: West Virginia Soldiers serve in their community hospitals, by SPC Meghan Keller, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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