Page 12 - White Plains Hospital Annual Report 2020-2021

A PANDEMIC STAR IS BORN
EVS worker Gina Rejas went viral as the face of unsung heroes on the front lines.
Expecting the unexpected has become an everyday mindset over the past year as the world has adjusted to life amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. But Gina Rejas, a Peruvian immigrant who works in the Environmental Services department as
a housekeeper on the
3F Unit could surely
never have expected her
surprising COVID story:
the Mamaroneck resident
took to Facebook in early
April to share a photo of
herself at work in her
PPE gear—full-body gown,
gloves, a mask, and a full-
face shield—along with a
message, in Spanish, “This
is my chance to thank
New York for making my
family’s dreams come
true.” When her son-in-law shared the post on Twitter, it became a viral hit, quickly earning more than 160,000 likes. Rejas received coverage on local News 12, and national news including CNN, NPR, MSN, Telemundo, Vice and various other news outlets as she became the face of the many essential workers and unsung heroes who captured public interest in the earliest days of the pandemic.
Rejas, who has worked at White Plains Hospital for five years, says of all the attention she received: “I’m so happy and humbled to have been recognized for the hard work that we engage in every day to support the patients in the hospital.” She notes that her devotion to her job on the front lines is shared by her coworkers—many of whom are 10
also immigrants. “I was happy to be able to represent the very important work the EVS department does every day to be impactful. We try to have good vibes and bring happy energy in to our work for the patients,” she explains.
At the time of the post, Westchester was one of the first hotspots in the nation for COVID-19 cases and Rejas’ unit was solely devoted to COVID patients. Fear of infection was palpable but Rejas was not deterred. “In the beginning, it was very difficult,” Rejas recalls of the worry about getting sick. “But we embarked on this together, all of the hospital staff. We are like a family here. Every day I go to
work and encounter the staff and all of our nurses and I’m inspired to do my part to help keep everyone safe.” And she stays inspired, she says, “every time I see a patient be able to walk out [of the hospital] and rejoin their families.”
The most touching part of Rejas’ viral post, however, may have been the gratitude she expressed for her adopted home state of New York. “I’m beyond grateful for every opportunity that I’ve had since moving here, and happy to lend a hand at such a difficult time that we’re all going through,” she says. For Rejas, living in New York, working at the Hospital, and seeing her two daughters go through college has been “my version of the American dream.”
WHITE PLAINS HOSPITAL
“I’m so happy and humbled to have been recognized for the hard work that we engage in every day to support the patients in the hospital.”
— GINA REJAS —