National Nurses Week: Cooper Hospital Nurse Of The Year Steve Teitelman Recognized For High-Flying Care With Air Medical Service
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- We continue to honor nurses on the frontlines of care as we celebrate National Nurses Week. Nurses everywhere are facing intense challenges taking care of COVID-19 patients.
We appreciate their dedication and service. We want you to meet the person who just received Cooper Hospital's 2020 Nurse of the Year award.
Steve Teitelman is a high-flying nurse, providing critical care and advanced life support in helicopters for Cooper Hospital's Air Medical Service.
"We're often managing patients at the ICU level, so with a lot of medicines and breathing support and all kinds of complicated stuff going on," Teitelman said.
Those life-saving interventions happen in a small space while bouncing in the air.
"There's a lot of responsibility on our shoulders so we have to have a lot of education, training, experience," Teitelman said.
There's all that, and for Teitelman, there's a human element with the patients.
"I try to make sure at least the person knows I'm there to help, who I am, why I'm there and to make sure they have an understanding of what's going to be happening," Teitelman said. "It's something that's important and sometimes it's easy to lose track of that."
Now with the pandemic, there's an extra level of precaution and equipment.
"We try to explain, 'Sorry about the scary mask, sorry about not being able to really take a look at you,'" he said.
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For his patient connections and expert care, Teitelman has been named Cooper's Nurse of the Year after being nominated by his colleagues.
"I think there are many, many nurses that are way more deserving than I, but I'll take it. I was excited. I've worked hard so I'll take any kind of praise I can get," he said. "But my hat goes off to all the nurses."
National Nurses Week, which started Wednesday, ends on May 12 -- the birthday of the most famous nurse in history, Florence Nightingale.