Skip to content
  • logo
  • logo
  • Real Estate
    • Development
  • Restaurants
  • Calendar
    • Add an event
  • Tell JP Your News
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
    • About Us

Jamaica Plain News - Fresh News for the Neighborhood You Love

Jamaica Plain News (https://www.jamaicaplainnews.com/2020/07/22/brookside-health-center-frontline-staff-talk-working-in-face-of-covid-19/228186)

  • Real Estate
    • Development
  • Restaurants
  • Calendar
    • Add an event
  • Tell JP Your News
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
    • About Us

Brookside Health Center Frontline Staff Talk Working in Face of COVID-19

By David Ertischek | July 22, 2020
LikeTweet EmailPrint More
  • More on Coronavirus
  • Subscribe to Coronavirus

There are countless unsung heroes who are working on the frontlines in the face of the Coronavirus. Here are two Brookside Community Health Center employees who have been putting their lives on the line to help others.

For eight weeks, ending July 10, the Brookside Community Health Center was one of Boston's free testing sites. That meant lots and lots of people coming to get tested.

Tory Hill

Name: Victoria (Tory) Hill
Age: 30
Hometown: Jamaica Plain

I have worked at Brookside Community Health Center for five years in total. I left for a few years to go back to nursing school, and have now been back working as a nurse practitioner for the last three years. One of the most challenging things during this pandemic has been lack of physical presence. We rapidly made the shift to working from home and to telehealth. Particularly in the beginning when there was so much unknown about the virus, it was challenging to not be physically present supporting one another as coworkers, and particularly difficult to not be physically present with patients.

At times, all you wanted to do was to be able to hold a patient’s hand as a means of comforting them. Rather than surprised, I would say I am so proud of and grateful for how Brookside has responded to the pandemic. This is a reflection of the dedication and hard work of every single person.

Early on, team members began making calls to check-in on patients to ensure they had housing resources, food, and access to medications. We had a team of medical students making daily phone calls to patients infected with COVID. We set up a testing site that has been running in our parking lot for the last eight weeks and testing hundreds of patients daily. We have been pushed to work in different ways and to use technology in new ways. This transition happened very quickly as a result of the pandemic, and I’m not sure it would have otherwise. I’m hopeful and confident we will carry much of this work forward.

Carolina Villalta

Name: Carolina Villalta.
Age: 38
Hometown: Roxbury

I have been working at Brookside Community Health Center as a Medical Assistant for 5 ½ years now. During this pandemic, not being able to see and assist the patients in person for the past three months has been very hard for me. What has surprised me the most during this pandemic is that although Brookside Community Health Center is in Jamaica Plain, we were able to help many patients from different communities at our testing site. We have also been seeing pediatric patients from our neighboring clinics. I’d like to add that I enjoy helping others and I take pride in my job. I make sure that I do it to the best of my ability.

2,231 Views
Tags
  • Business
  • Coronavirus
  • Brookside Community Health Center
  • Coronavirus
  • COVID-19
Previous Post
Norvin's Beloved 'Silver Bears' Sculpture Part of Connecticut Public Art Exhibition
Next Post
Jamaica Plain Resident Named to Recording Academy Board of Trustees

JAMAICA PLAIN EVENTS

Loading view.
  • January 2023

Calendar of Events

M Mon

T Tue

W Wed

T Thu

F Fri

S Sat

S Sun

0 events, 26

0 events, 27

0 events, 28

0 events, 29

0 events, 30

0 events, 31

0 events, 1

0 events, 2

0 events, 3

0 events, 4

1 event, 5

5:30 pm - 6:30 pm

January Vigil in Support of Black Lives Matter

January 5 @ 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm

January Vigil in Support of Black Lives Matter

Everyone is warmly invited to participate in the January Vigil in Support of Black Lives Matter, on Thursday, January 5, from 5:30-6:30 pm on the lawn of the First Baptist […]

0 events, 6

0 events, 7

1 event, 8

1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Winter Wellness Walk

January 8 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Winter Wellness Walk

Stay connected to nature and enjoy the health benefits of a winter walk at the Arnold Arboretum. Docents will cover seasonal interest, Arboretum history, and our plant collections. Please dress […]

0 events, 9

1 event, 10

6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Lecture: Bird Bills

January 10 @ 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Lecture: Bird Bills

Bird bills come in all sorts of sizes and shapes, from the needle-like bills of swallows for picking insects out of the air, to hummingbirds' long and curved bills for […]

0 events, 11

1 event, 12

2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Tree Mob: Sweet Birch

January 12 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Tree Mob: Sweet Birch

It looks like a cherry tree, it smells like root beer, but it is, in fact, the beautiful and aromatic sweet birch. Join Horticulturist Brendan Keegan to learn about this […]

0 events, 13

0 events, 14

1 event, 15

1:00 pm - 2:30 pm

Family Hike: Evergreens!

January 15 @ 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm

Family Hike: Evergreens!

Spruces and hemlocks and pines, oh my! Take a walk and use a hand lens to see the intricacies of evergreen needles and cones. You will be surprised at something you’ve never […]

0 events, 16

0 events, 17

0 events, 18

0 events, 19

0 events, 20

2 events, 21

11:00 am - 1:00 pm

Learn About Ice Harvesting on Jamaica Pond

January 21 @ 11:00 am - 1:00 pm

Learn About Ice Harvesting on Jamaica Pond

Back by popular demand, this talk will explore the history of ice harvesting on Jamaica Pond. Before the 19th century, ice was a commodity available only to the very rich […]

12:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Open House: Arboretum Entrance Improvement Project

January 21 @ 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Open House: Arboretum Entrance Improvement Project

Open House: Arboretum Entrance Improvement Project Saturday, January 21, 12-3pm Location: Weld Hill Research Building, 1300 Centre Street, Boston, MA 02131 Please join the Arboretum and landscape design firm Michael […]

1 event, 22

10:00 am - 11:00 am

Barking Up the Right Tree: A Tour of Bark Diversity at the Arboretum

January 22 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am

Barking Up the Right Tree: A Tour of Bark Diversity at the Arboretum

What is there to see at the Arboretum after all of the leaves have fallen and before spring flowers start to bloom? Bark! Shaggy bark, mottled bark, striped bark: the […]

0 events, 23

0 events, 24

0 events, 25

1 event, 26

7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Book Talk: Wicked Plants by Amy Stewart

January 26 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Book Talk: Wicked Plants by Amy Stewart

In her New York Times bestseller Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln’s Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities, Amy Stewart takes on Mother Nature’s most appalling creations. It’s an A […]

0 events, 27

1 event, 28

1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

The Overstory: A Participatory Read Aloud

January 28 @ 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

The Overstory: A Participatory Read Aloud

Join a participatory, in-person read-aloud of excerpts from Richard Powers’ tree-inspired novel The Overstory hosted by the Arnold Arboretum. The read-aloud will take place on Saturday, January 28, between 1pm and 4pm, within the exhibition […]

0 events, 29

0 events, 30

0 events, 31

0 events, 1

0 events, 2

0 events, 3

0 events, 4

1 event, 5

2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Learn About The History of St John’s Episcopal Church, Jamaica Plain

February 5 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Learn About The History of St John’s Episcopal Church, Jamaica Plain

Katharine Cipolla, Parish Historian, will present a survey of the historic building from her recent book A History of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, The First Century. St. […]

  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
January 5
January 5 @ 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm

January Vigil in Support of Black Lives Matter

  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
January 8
January 8 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Winter Wellness Walk

  • There are no events on this day.
January 10
January 10 @ 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Lecture: Bird Bills

  • There are no events on this day.
January 12
January 12 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Tree Mob: Sweet Birch

  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
January 15
January 15 @ 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm

Family Hike: Evergreens!

  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
January 21
January 21 @ 11:00 am - 1:00 pm

Learn About Ice Harvesting on Jamaica Pond

January 21 @ 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Open House: Arboretum Entrance Improvement Project

January 22
January 22 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am

Barking Up the Right Tree: A Tour of Bark Diversity at the Arboretum

  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
January 26
January 26 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Book Talk: Wicked Plants by Amy Stewart

  • There are no events on this day.
January 28
January 28 @ 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

The Overstory: A Participatory Read Aloud

February 5
February 5 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Learn About The History of St John’s Episcopal Church, Jamaica Plain

  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
February 5
February 5 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Learn About The History of St John’s Episcopal Church, Jamaica Plain

View Calendar

Recent Comments

Tweets by @02130News

ABOUT JAMAICA PLAIN NEWS

Jamaica Plain News is an independent online news source and community platform for the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts.

David Ertischek

Our publisher David Ertischek has been a community journalist for more than 18 years. He has been the editor and reporter for local newspapers and websites. He has lived in Jamaica Plain since 2002. His favorite thing about Jamaica Plain is the Arnold Arboretum.

Jamaica Plain News is supported by advertising from local businesses. Please click here to learn more about advertising on Jamaica Plain News or email David Ertischek at david@jamaicaplainnews.com.

Other Recent Posts

  • Theme: A Jamaica Plain Resident Created JP Improv…

  • MBTA Orange Line Suspended Between North Station and Ruggles This Weekend

  • Diversity Consignment Recycles Clothing and Customers (Can) Make Money, Too

  • Fireside Tavern to Make Way for 9-Unit, Mixed Use Apartment Building

  • Get Your Tix Now for Galentine’s Wine & Chocolate Tour

  • Jamaica Plain’s Hutzler Stars in CCT’s ‘I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change!’

  • 5 Proposed Design Concepts To Be Revealed During Arnold Arboretum Entrance Improvement Meeting on Jan. 21

  • What Do You Want to See In This Empty Centre Street Storefront?

  • Next Flaherty Playground Renovations Plan to Include Dog Area at Feb. 7 Meeting

  • Heath Street Water Main Break Collapses Road, Floods Streets

  • Jamaica Plain Realtors Provide Their Market Outlook for 2023

  • Stony Brook Playground & Spray Deck Closed Into Summer for Renovations

  • Another Bank Coming to Centre Street: TD Bank to Open Branch

  • Bukhara Looks Like It Closed: Space Available Immediately to Lease

  • Old Orange Line Cars May Ride Rails Again!

Get Our Free Daily Newsletter

© Copyright 2023, Jamaica Plain News

Built with the Largo WordPress Theme from the Institute for Nonprofit News.

Back to top ↑