A pair of former Angelina College students have taken their much-needed skills to join
the COVID-19 fight in New Jersey in one of the nation’s hardest-hit areas of the pandemic.
Heather Lopez and Jasmine Grimaldo, each of whom graduated the Angelina College
Licensed Vocational Nurse program at AC, currently are working at a hospital in Haskell, New
Jersey. The facility in which they’re involved contains four units, three of which are considered
COVID-19 positive, according to Lopez.
“Our job is to monitor patients’ baseline for changes, give IV and antibiotics by mouth
that are being used in conjunction with each other meds to treat the virus,” Lopez said in an emailed statement. “We hang IV fluids, as many patients are very lethargic and are not eating or
drinking.
“Palliative care has been a big part of our job here. We are keeping our patients
comfortable as possible as they enter the end stages of life.”
Grimaldo said other duties include “monitoring and documenting patient symptoms,
performing respiratory assessments, implementing infection control precautions, and providing
advice and emotional support to our patients and their families.”
“As a nurse with no personal obligations (husband, small children), I couldn’t think of a
better way to put my nursing license to use,” Grimaldo said. “It is a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity, as well as a great learning experience to be able to help during this COVID-19
pandemic.”
Lopez, a Hudson High School alumnus, cited the Nightingale Pledge from her nursing
graduation ceremony as part of her motivation for her decision to leave home and head for the
pandemic’s front lines.
“I have always enjoyed and valued the service I have provided to my patients in Lufkin,”
Lopez said. “I decided I wanted to join the fight because I remembered the oath I recited at my
graduation. I also know that there is a level of skill and compassion that I have to offer to others
who are in need the most at this time.”
Both nurses credited their training and instructors at AC, stating specific skills learned
such as “donning PPE (personal protective equipment), tracheostomy care, administering
intravenous lines and IV medications, handling emergency protocols and using nursing
prudence.”
“The skills I acquired at Angelina College are the foundation to my abilities as a nurse,”
Lopez said. “My instructors taught me how to think clinically and not to second guess myself.”
For further information, contact Krista Brown at kbrown@angelina.edu
