Culture

This Gay Man May Be the First NYC Nurse to Die from COVID-19. Coworkers Are Outraged


 

Kious Kelly, a nurse manager at Mount Sinai West in Manhattan, is now believed to be the first NYC nurse to die from the coronavirus, The New York Times reports. He passed away March 20, and was 48 years old.

According to his sister, Marya Patrice Sherron, Kelly had asthma but “was otherwise well,” as she told the Times. His last text messages to her were sent March 18, saying that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and that he was in the intensive care unit hooked up to a ventilator. Kelly’s last message to his sister was: “I’m okay. Don’t tell Mom and Dad. They’ll worry.”

“His death could have been prevented,” Sherron said on Facebook Wednesday. She added in a separate post: “I’m angry. He was healthy.” His family is now trying to get his body back to Michigan, where he was originally from.

Kelly’s co-workers blame a lack of protective gear for his death. A nurse at Mount Sinai West told the Times under anonymity that Kelly had not used protective equipment, even though he regularly helped nurses on his team with hands-on care. As recently as March 10, he helped a nurse take off her protective gear after working with a patient who tested positive for the virus, the nurse said.

Another of Kelly’s colleagues, nurse Bevon Bloise, wrote in a Facebook post that she was “angry with the Mount Sinai Health System for not protecting him.” “We do not have enough PPE [personal protective equipment], we do not have the correct PPE, and we do not have the appropriate staffing to handle this pandemic,” she wrote. “I do not appreciate representatives of this health system saying otherwise on the news.”

The lack of sufficient PPE is a concern for health care workers across the nation, who are relying on community donations and funds in order to adequately protect themselves on the job. Some medical professionals have resorted to using plastic bags, bandanas, and scarves to protect themselves, according to Facebook posts from nurses.

Kelly is remembered by his co-workers for his “light-heartedness” and “great sense of humor,” according to a GoFundMe campaign that his colleague Joanne Loo set up to help his family. In a separate Facebook post, Loo reflected on Kelly’s willingness to support and bring joy to his team.

“He used to carry around a thick notepad holder that hides a box full of chocolates and candies so he can have it handy to give out to miserable/grumbly nurses and doctors,” Loo wrote. “He is a nurse hero to the patients and nurses who he crossed path [sic] with.” 

Andy Humm, a board member of New Alternatives for Homeless LGBT Youth, also wrote a remembrance for Kelly for Gay City News. Humm first met Kelly in February, when he went to check in on a client hospitalized at Mount Sinai West who was in “constant agony and could not even sip water.” Humm writes, “[Kelly] showed up with a rainbow pin and a calm, caring manner and made things happen for the young man — getting him pain relief and pulling him back from the brink of wanting to take his own life.”

Another one of his colleagues, Janet Cuaycong, has shared a touching video in remembrance of Kelly. Find it below. 


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