STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Deanna Bilotti, 29, an ICU nurse at Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH), never thought when she started a master’s degree program in 2017 that she’d be finishing it with nurses who have been working tirelessly on the front line to care for coronavirus (COVID-19) patients during the global pandemic.
“Right now the ICU at SIUH has turned into a full COVID unit. ...We are critical care nurses so we deal with the most critical COVID cases,” she said. “It was tough in the beginning because you worry about yourself and your own families, you didn’t know what was going to happen -- if you were going to contract COVID or how. Plus, it was constantly changing about what we should do, and the PPE [personal protective equipment] we should wear.”
Deanna Bilotti, 29, an ICU nurse at Staten Island University Hospital, never thought when she started a master’s degree program in 2017 that she’d be finishing it with a group of nurses who have been working tirelessly on the front line to care for coronavirus patients during the global pandemic.
While working long hours to treat the influx of coronavirus patients coming into the hospital, Bilotti was one of 45 nurses who earned their master’s degree in nursing from Wagner College, Grymes Hill, to become Family Nurse Practitioners (FNP) on Dec. 10.
And the nurses are proud they were able to achieve their goals amid the pandemic, said Bilotti.
Having worked in the ICU at SIUH’s Ocean Breeze campus for the last four years, Bilotti said treating coronavirus patients is the most challenging thing she’s ever done in her five-year career as a nurse.
“This year, 2020, is the year of the nurse. We took on things we never thought we’d see in our lifetime,” said Bilotti, noting that during the second wave, the nurses are better equipped with PPE and there are less people on ventilators.
From left: Christina Stabile, Deanna Bilotti, Andrea Sparacino, Vanessa Konczynski , Kseniya Parnitskaya, Nicole Zimmerman and Angela Errico-Mazzeo.
WORKING DOUBLE TIME
She and her classmates had to work “double time” to complete clinical hours and make up for all “the lost school work” in the spring when Wagner classes were suspended, she said.
“In addition to working full-time and overtime hours these last nine months serving the community of Staten Island, we have been working to complete our FNP degree and master’s in nursing,” said Bilotti of her Class of 2020.
“We were calling ourselves the COVID Class of 2020. We all work full-time at the bedside -- from critical care nurses to pediatric care nurses -- and we were going to school. And on top of that, in order to graduate you need 600 hours of clinicals ... so we were doing that as well,” said Bilotti.
They were all determined to graduate this December. And they did.
“We did all of those extra hours and all worked full-time to make sure we had no nursing shortages during the final months of our degree,” she said.
“We all met our requirements and graduated as nurse practitioners and with our master’s in nursing,” recalled an enthusiastic Bilotti, noting that due to the pandemic they were unable to have a graduation.
“We were calling ourselves the COVID Class of 2020. We all work full-time at the bedside -- from critical care nurses to pediatric care nurses -- and we were going to school. And on top of that, in order to graduate you need 600 hours of clinicals ... so we were doing that as well,” said Bilotti.
NOT IMMUNE
However, right after Bilotti obtained her degree, she contracted the coronavirus, and was sick with “most of the symptoms.” But she is now recovering and ready to get back to work, she said.
GRADUATES
In addition to Bilotti, here is the full list of graduates: Nelly M. Addison, Nnenna Anya, Arielle C. Babino, Lauren Berger, Suzana Bojkovic, Danielle Brancale, Vanessa Cabatbat, Kristie A. Cannova, Claire E. Carmody, Alyssa Casciorizzo, Kelly Cassese, Jian Chen, Nicole Colandrea, Amanda M. Collazo, Vanessa Dimuro, Courtney DiStefano, Angela Errico-Mazzeo, Olga Fiterman, Amanda Friscia, Jenna Friscia, Laura M. Garofalo, Jennifer Gjondrekaj, Alexandria Guida, Gina Hassler, Kaitlyn Kelly, Jennifer Leli, Robert A. Lohse, Anastasia Lyras, Rosa M. Melillo-Miller, Amanda J. Nemoyten, Svetlana Oleynik, Kseniya Parnitskaya, Steven A. Smith, Stephanie Soto, Andrea Sparacino, Christina Stabile, Jessica M. Stevenson, Edric R. Torres, Kah Loon Wan, Arielle C. Wine, Kayla V. Wong, Nicole Zimmerman and Brittany Zinke.
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