Returning home during COVID-19:
Dr. Jay Flynn spends two weeks in isolation
after living and working in Alaska
I
n a room at the Hampton Inn, Dr. Jay
Flynn spent two weeks in near solitude.
The Somerset native spent his days in a
routine. He began by riding his bike in a
secluded area, usually at Pulaski County
Park, as far away from others as he could get.
He would eat by taking care to follow
certain rules. All food, whether from a
restaurant or the grocery store, was wiped
down before being brought into the room. If
it was bought in a “flimsy” plastic container,
it was transferred into one of his own
containers before being eaten.
From noon until 6 p.m., Dr. Flynn spent
his time practicing telemedicine, staying in
contact with patents in Alaska, a state which,
M ay 2020
up until recently, Dr. Flynn was living in.
All of the precautions, self-isolating and
social distancing would in the end have a
reward. Flynn got to spend a few days with
his mother here in Somerset, before seeing
his girlfriend in Louisville.
Then, around the end of April, Dr. Flynn
was expecting to charge right back into
the front lines of medicine, working in
Elizabethtown.
Once he gets back to work, he said he
thought he would once again be isolated
from his loved ones. The brief time he gets
to see them will be the quiet before jumping
back into a profession that puts him in
contact with possible COVID-19 patients.
I n T ouch with S outhern K entucky • 17