Air Force Nurses Lead Care at New York Hospital
LAUREL CHIARAMONTE , MSN , RN , MBA , CNS-BC
Manager of Case Management and of Utilization Management , Colorado Springs
On February 1 , 2022 , a team of six nurses and two respiratory therapists from Peterson AFB ’ s 302 Aeromedical Staging Squadron ( ASTS ) was notified that they would be deployed to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse , NY In support of OPERATION SPARTAN SHIELD . The New York hospital , like so many others throughout the country , were hit hard by COVID-19 and nursing staff was significantly decreased .
Laurel Chiaramonte , MSN , RN , MBA , CNS-BC , Manager of Case Management and of Utilization Management at Children ’ s Hospital Colorado , Colorado Springs , led the FEMA-requested small medical unit in New York . The team , combined with other nurse reservists from around the country , maintained a 12-bed unit around the clock from February 7th to March 15th , 2022 . During that time , Chiaramonte cared for 83 patients on the Air Force floor , saving the hospital more than $ 443K in travel nurse costs .
The team provided end of life care , total care and feeding for incapacitated patients , as well as psychiatric , orthopedic , surgical and mortuary care . As a team , the Air Force reservists cared for 2,574 patients over 3,595 clinical hours , enabling PTO for exhausted floor nurses and decreasing emergency department boarding times by 24 %. When the hospital was deemed stable in April , the team left to a round of applause from their Upstate counterparts .
CHIARAMONTE WAS AWARDED AN AIR FORCE ACHIEVEMENT MEDAL BY BRIGADIER GENERAL BANK , DUAL STATUS COMMANDER FOR THE STATE OF NEW YORK , FOR HER WORK AT THE FACILITY .
18 2022 PCS Annual Report