Spectrum News interviewed a local family making a difference in the lives of COVID-19 patients in the Capital Region. All four are front line workers; three happen to work for St. Peter’s Health Partners.
Andrew Black, M.D., is a hospitalist at Samaritan Hospital. He works in the COVID-19 unit, alongside his daughter, Bobbi-Jo Brink, who is a patient care technician in Samaritan’s ICU. Black’s wife, Mandy, is a nurse practitioner at St. Peter’s Diabetes and Endocrine Care in East Greenbush. Their other daughter, Carolyn Fleming, is an EMT for Mohawk Ambulance.
From the story:
Carolyn, Mandy, Andrew, and Bobbi-Jo are all medical professionals working tirelessly on the front lines during the ongoing pandemic. But what keeps them going, is the knowledge they are all one unit.
Doctor Andrew Black’s daughter, Bobbi-Jo Brink, hit the ground running. At just 19 years old she’s one of the ICU patient care techs at Samaritan Hospital.
“I wasn’t expecting a huge virus to hit and everything to go crazy,” said Brink.
The aspiring RN works overtime while attending school and managing to teach her father a few things along the way.
“She had to show me things like where the PPE was and how to put it on,” said Andrew.
The hospitalist physician volunteered to work in the COVID-19 unit at Samaritan and now he and his daughter work side-by-side.
“I’m really just so proud of all my kids but especially these two girls; they’ve stepped up to the challenge,” said Andrew. “I know what I’m going to do that day is going to directly help somebody.”
Click here to watch Spectrum’s report.
