First Responder is Ready Any Second

Nikki Johnson ’92

Three days a week, Nikki Johnson spends 12 hours by her phone, waiting.

So far, she hasn’t received the call she’s been waiting for. Johnson, ’92, is a nurse at Franciscan Crown Point in Crown Point, Indiana. With the outpatient surgery center where she usually works shut down due to the COVID-19 epidemic, Johnson is now on call to provide backup support to the main hospital should a surge in patients overwhelm the regular staff.

“I haven’t gone in at all. I’m just at home waiting to be called,” she said. “It’s been really weird. I feel a little helpless.”

Johnson has spent the last 22 years working in operating rooms and the experience of not being needed at work is uncomfortably new. She reads all she can about the virus and “obsessively” follows statistics about its spread.

At times, the news around the epidemic has been frustrating. “It should not be so difficult,” Johnson said, “to get medical professionals the personal protective equipment they need.” She hopes the government and industry will recognize the need to increase domestic manufacturing of such equipment.

In the early days of the virus’ spread, even social media was frustrating. Too many people had a cavalier attitude, downplaying COVID-19’s severity and comparing it to the flu. In recent weeks, Johnson has been heartened to see attitudes changing. As the number of infections and deaths climbed, she has seen Americans taking it more seriously and doing what they can to slow the spread.

“I feel like people get it now,” she said. “The biggest thing you can do to support healthcare workers is to stay home. Stop spreading the virus so we have enough beds to take care of the sick.”

While she was being cross-trained to work on the hospital floor, Johnson cared for sick patients in the process of learning whether they had COVID-19. While none of her patients tested positive, Johnson said everyone at the hospital, even those without the virus, are feeling on edge.

“Everyone is scared and anxious, and everyone needs to be treated with empathy,” she said. “Staff are scared and anxious, too. We need to really do all we can to help each other.”

While she waits, Johnson has found space for gratitude.

“It’s a good sign that I haven’t been needed,” she said. “It shows people are doing what they can. I wish I could be there and helping, but at the same time I’m glad I can stay safe and not exposed.”

She is also grateful for the unexpected gift of family time. Johnson has been self-isolating with her husband, a railroad worker, her daughter, 19, and her son, 15.

“We’re definitely spending more time together, which is nice, especially with older kids,” Johnson said. “When you have teenagers, you don’t usually get that kind of together time with them. But we’ve been hanging out together, having ping-pong tournaments, cleaning out closets, that sort of thing. Things we don’t usually have time for because our lives pull us in different directions.”

While she waits with her family, Johnson continues to self-educate and to stay as healthy as she can. When the phone rings, she will be ready to take up the baton from the tired nurses working on the hospital floor.

“I really miss my job,” she said. “I am so ready to help those afflicted by this terrible virus. I have never been so proud to be a nurse.”

At NIU, the Arts Persist Through Adversity

The theaters, galleries, and recital and concert halls at NIU are temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We love our venues and having everyone come to see our work, but the artists of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, past and present, have not stopped creating.

Through every crisis the world has ever known, the arts have always found a way to shine through and help provide the road back. This will be no different.

That’s why we created NIU Artists. Never. Quit. It’s a special section on the CVPA Arts Blog where every day we share the work of our students, faculty and alumni.

We invite you to see the work of our artists, musicians, actors and dancers. They continue to find unique ways to express themselves through their art. Feel free to share yours with us, too.

And when it’s safe and we’re back performing and exhibiting in our on-campus homes again, we can’t wait for you to experience it in person.

Best Regards,
Paul Kassel
Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts

Class Notes

’69

Len Lieberman finally took a Panama Canal cruise—something he’s wanted to do for many years.

’72

Dan L. Miller, M.S., C.A.S. ’78, Ed.D. ’82, of Roselle, Illinois, wrote Poems for Those Averse to Poetry (2019) and Poems and Quotes for Those Averse to Poetry (2019). Both books feature original poetry paired with creative photography, while the latter includes essays and categorized quotes on poetry. Dan also produces the Illustrated Classics for Students series.

’75

Calvin Rose, M.S. ’78, is the treasurer of the Philadelphia Securities Association and celebrated its 90th anniversary by ringing the closing bell at the NYSE.

’77

Judy (Bond) Friedrichs and Larry Friedrichs became grandparents this year. Larry stays connected with teaching by substituting in special education at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois. Judy is celebrating 42 years at Rush University this year, caring for families as the bereavement support coordinator.

’78

Zenebe Abebe, M.S. ’78, has published her book, FUNDING A MISSION: One Donor and One Penny at a Time, which highlights the culture of philanthropy and nonprofit organizations’ ability to form partners around the globe to provide support to those in need. Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

’79

Roy Clingman has been hired as vice president of business development at Servato headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana.

’81

Douglas Gorham, M.S. ’81, published a book entitled Engineering Education through Social Innovation: The Contributions of Professional Societies. This work was done in partnership with the University of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Hon. Sharon Johnson Coleman won the 2019 Justice John Paul Stevens Award, given by The Chicago Bar Foundation and The Chicago Bar Association. This award honors Justice Stevens, a Chicago native, for his lifetime effort to improve the system of justice and his active participation and dedication to the CBA. The award is presented annually to attorneys who best exemplify the Justice’s commitment to integrity and public service in the practice of law.

’82

Janet Haass Zelenka, M.B.A., became executive vice president and chief financial officer of Stericycle in June 2019. Stericycle, Inc., offers regulated waste management services, sharps disposal containers to reduce the risk of needlesticks, healthcare compliance services, pharmaceutical disposal, regulated returns management services for expired or recalled products, and secure information destruction services including document and hard drive destruction through its Shred-It business.

William F. Tate IV is now the provost and executive vice president of academic affairs at the University of South Carolina. He holds the USC Education Foundation Distinguished Professorship in Sociology and Family & Preventive Medicine.

’83

Wheeler Coleman, M.B.A. ’04, CEO of EC-United, joins Discovery’s Strategic Advisory Board as an inaugural member. Comprised of veterans and forward thinkers in the healthcare payer technology space, the board will guide Discovery in advancing its industry-leading solutions portfolio to help health plans avoid costs and improve claims payment accuracy.

’84

Keith Bartholomew was recently promoted to full professor at the University of Utah College of Architecture + Planning.

’87

Art J. Coulter has been appointed a senior trial counsel in the Fraud Section of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division in Washington, D.C.

Vince Fidanza, M.A.S. ’99, retired as of Jan. 1, 2020 this year.

’88

Laura Skarnulis has been named among the Crain’s Chicago Business 2019 Notable Women in Health Care. In only its second year, the Notable Women in Health Care features some of the most influential health care leaders in the city of Chicago and recognizes their efforts to inform and effect change in the city’s health care community.

’89

Patrick Ryan, after extensive training, earned his helmet shield as a probationary member of the Glen Ellyn, Illinois, Volunteer Fire Company.

Richard Tippy recently joined Federated Group, Inc., as the new director of finance.

’92

James Durbin has been promoted to the rank of deputy chief of operations with the Bartlett Police Department in Bartlett, Illinois.

Richard Haas, M.A.S. ’97, was appointed as senior vice president and chief accounting officer at Office Depot, Inc.

William C. McCoy has been appointed interim director of the Pan African Studies program in the Clemson University College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities.

Ken Stemke recently celebrated the two-year anniversary of his Libertyville, Illinois, Italian/Mediterranean restaurant, Main Street Social.

’93

Lisa Tate-Primm, M.S.Ed. ’97, was appointed to vice president of payer relations with Rosecrance, a leading provider of behavioral health services with nationally recognized addiction treatment programs.

’94

Debbie Jarvis was selected to serve as the Illinois Circuit Court 17th Judicial Circuit’s next director of court services for Winnebago and Boone Counties in Illinois.

Kim Perkins was named director of human resources for Goodwill Industries, Inc. in Fort Worth, Texas.

’98

Javed Kapadia, owner of the Javed Kapadia State Farm Agency in Naples, Florida, was voted Top Insurance Agency in all of Southwest Florida by the readers of Gulfshore Business Magazine.

Jenn Kovacs was recently appointed chief development officer at The Mission Continues, a national nonprofit that mobilizes veterans in service to communities in need.

Chris Kubic, M.S. ’10, now serves as the principal at New Tech at Zion-Benton East, a project-based-learning school in Zion, Illinois.

’01

Vicki Clarke, Ph.D. ’01, completed the New Strategies executive program at the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business in 2020.

Matthew Doss, J.D. ’01, was sworn in as a member of the Markle Town Council in Markle, Indiana.

’02

Phil Alampi was promoted to vice president of customer engagement at Schaumburg-based DataCubes, the first decision platform for commercial property and casualty underwriting.

’04

Peter J. Steele, M.A. ’05, has been promoted to vice president, distinguished partners for the North Central Region of the American Cancer Society.

’07

Ryan Monette has been named one of the “40 Leaders Under Forty” by the Rockford, Illinois Chamber of Commerce. Monette was recognized for his leadership and mentorship within the Savant and the Stateline community.

Will O’Hearn was named director of the public library system in Eugene, Oregon.

’08

Meagan M. Agne, J.D. ’12, joined Sivia Law in the field of family law and estate planning education, serving in the expanded East Alton, Illinois, office.

Timothy Hendrickson, Ph.D. ’13, has been appointed as assistant professor of literature and languages at Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, Illinois.

Dr. Lisa Kay, Ed.D., associate professor, department chair of Art Education & Community Arts Practices and program head of Art Therapy at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University in Philadelphia, has released her latest book, Therapeutic Approaches in Art Education (Davis Publications, Inc.). This book offers readers therapeutic art strategies to support and enhance the art teaching practice as well as a better understanding of therapeutic art and how to support students in thoughtful, holistic ways.

Melissa Lugo-Noun, M.S.Ed., and Alex Noun, ’12, were married on June 19, 2019, in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

Vanessa Mendoza and Ricardo Buitron welcomed their second baby boy, Gael Buitron, on Oct. 9, 2019.

’11

Keith Darby, M.S., is a geographic information system (GIS) specialist for the City of Wheaton, Illinois, and was featured in ArcNews from ESRI as he made it to Peru’s Machu Picchu, atop the Andes Mountains.

Justin Jacobson was hired as the Mendota Trojans’ boys’ basketball coach in Mendota, Illinois.

Katelyn Kwasny has been named by the District 113A Board of Education as assistant principal for Oakwood School in Lemont, Illinois.

Joseph F. Volin, M.S.Ed., Ed.D. ’16, has accepted the position of senior director, constituent engagement at Illinois Institute of Technology.

’12

Zachary Craft has been appointed by the Board of Education of Downers Grove Grade School District 58 as principal of Highland School.

Anthony Glosson has joined the firm of Kilpatrick Townsend in Atlanta, Georgia, as part of the Technology, Privacy and Cybersecurity team in the Corporate, Finance and Real Estate Department.

Malcolm Rogers, founder and operations leader of National Business Development Group, created The Foolish Entrepreneur Strategy Guide for Creating and Running a Successful Business, to assist future and current entrepreneurs and business owners on how to grow their businesses and strategically navigate the business life cycle.

’14

Marishonta Wilkerson, J.D. ’14, has been appointed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker as one of the two 2020 Census co-coordinators to lead the new Census Office in the Illinois Department of Human Services by Executive Order 10.

’15

Brian W. Caputo, Ph.D. ’15, has been elected as the seventh president of the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

’16

Nicole Mitchell Brookens has been named program and events coordinator for the Village of Flossmoor, Illinois, and acts as the liaison between the village and its volunteer-based commissions.

IN MEMORIAM

Mildred Fink Jecklin ’33 on Jan. 15, 2020, in Freeport, Illinois

Theresa M. Nodland ’37 M.S.Ed. ’68, on Jan. 20, 2019, in Ottawa, Illinois

Dolores M. Shaughnessy 2 yr. degree ’38 on Sept. 18, 2019, in Freeport, Illinois

Marjorie A. Milton 2 yr. degree ’42 on Jan. 18, 2020, in Stockton, California

Dolores Smith Bendelow ’49 on Jan. 15, 2020, in Whitehall, Michigan

Elizabeth E. Welsh ’50 on Jan. 15, 2020, in Loves Park, Illinois

Virginia Erickson ’51 on Oct. 15, 2019, in Rockford, Illinois

Sidney F. Felder ’52, M.S.Ed. ’63 on Oct. 11, 2019, in Freeport, Illinois

James S. Lamb ’52, M.S.Ed. ’53 on Sept. 11, 2019, in Fairfax, Virginia

Lawrence J. Leon ’52, M.S.Ed. ’60 on Nov. 2, 2019, in Libertyville, Illinois

Carl S. Adams ’54 on Oct. 19, 2019, in Jacksonville, Florida

Janet Lundgren ’55, M.S.Ed. ’58 on Dec. 23, 2019, in Seabrook, South Carolina

Sally Ann Miller ’55, M.S.Ed. ’72 on Feb. 13, 2020, in Green Oaks, Illinois

Duane L. Andrews ’56 on Dec. 14, 2019, in Clinton, Mississippi

Zetta A. Ottenberg ’56 on Dec. 18, 2019, in Rockford, Illinois

Donald B. Hunter M.S.Ed. ’57 on Jan. 18, 2020, in Midway, Arkansas

Faye A. Markley ’57 on Dec. 11, 2019, in Rockford, Illinois

Bruce W. Ferguson M.S.Ed. ’58 on Oct. 19, 2019, in Naperville, Illinois

Colette Lawson ’58 on Dec. 11, 2019, in Bettendorf, Iowa

Burdett E. Barrett ’59, M.S.Ed. ’66 on Feb. 2, 2020, in Matteson, Illinois

John B. Franz ’59 on Jan. 3, 2020, in Bassett, Wisconsin

Dawn M. Kennedy ’59 on Dec. 7, 2019, in Tiburon, California

Lois A. Brown ’60 on Feb. 20, 2020, in Charlottesville, Virginia

Roberta Parker ’60 on Sept. 19, 2019, in Florence, Oregon

Jo Anne Spirrison ’60 on Nov. 12, 2019, in Crystal Lake, Illinois

Gary R. Murino ’60 on Jan. 28, 2020, in Burr Ridge, Illinois, and Naples, Florida

Louise L. Florian ’61, M.S.Ed. ’63, Ed.D. ’84, on Sept. 27, 2019, in Naperville, Illinois

Gene F. Schriedel ’61 on Sept. 7, 2019, in New Hope, Pennsylvania

Richard A. Meyer ’62 on Sept. 19, 2019, in Rockford, Illinois

Denny Lee Bettisworth ’63 on Dec. 7, 2019, in Leesburg, Florida

Lenora Hylander ’63, M.S.Ed. ’69 on Sept. 19, 2019, in Inverness, Illinois

Carol D. Rodgers ’64 on Aug. 23, 2019, in Saint Charles, Illinois

Linda J. Svanda ’64 on Nov. 29, 2019, in Oregon, Wisconsin

George M. Nenonen ’65, M.B.A. ’73 on Nov. 12, 2019, in DeKalb, Illinois

Marge L. Rey ’65, M.S.Ed. ’93 on Jan. 27, 2020, in DeKalb, Illinois

James Suhr ’65 on Dec. 14, 2019, in Centerville, Ohio

Sharon A. Wagner ’65 on Jan. 15, 2020, in Oregon, Illinois

Richard E. Johnson ’66, M.S.Ed. ’69 on Jan. 19, 2020, in Casa Grande, Arizona

Ronald Lutes ’66 on Oct. 17, 2019, in Brooksville, Florida

Shirley L. Senn ’66 on Nov. 11, 2019, in Bluffton, South Carolina

Marlyn J. Cook ’67, M.S.Ed. ’03 on Sept. 15, 2019, in Waukegan, Illinois

Ann G. Dawson M.S.Ed. ’67, Ed.D. ’74 on Nov. 24, 2019, in Tampa, Florida

James F. McCoy ’67 on Nov. 13, 2019, in Davenport, Iowa

Georgia L. Scriven M.S.Ed. ’67, Ed.D. ’69 on Jan. 23, 2020, in Longmont, Colorado

John H. Weir M.A.S. ’67 on Sept. 27, 2019, in Naperville, Illinois

Verna J. Ehlers ’68, M.S.Ed. ’75 on Nov. 25, 2019, in Sycamore, Illinois

Jaloo I. Zelonis ’68 on Sept. 19, 2019, in Roberta, Georgia

David R. Carr ’69 on Jan. 31, 2020, in Pearl City, Illinois

Maryanne Golden ’69 on Dec. 23, 2019, in Lake Forest, Illinois

Sharon A. Koplinski ’69, M.S.Ed. ’91 on Oct. 8, 2018 in Romeoville, Illinois

Robert B. Laing M.B.A. ’69 on Dec. 27, 2019, in Machesney Park, Illinois

James Veruchi ’69 on Sept. 10, 2019, in Rockford, Illinois

Robert S. Szorc M.S. ’69 on Jan. 22, 2020, in West Chicago, Illinois

James Veruchi ’69 on Sept. 10, 2019, in Rockford, Illinois

Peter J. Chipain ’70 on Sept. 23, 2019, in Lemont, Illinois

Sandra Connell ’70 on Jan. 24, 2020, in Rockford, Illinois

Norman W. Griese, Jr. M.B.A. ’70 on Sept. 21, 2019, in West Des Moines, Iowa

Lewis F. Klein ’70, M.S.Ed. ’73 on Aug. 2, 2018 in San Diego, California

Millicent Leatherman ’70 on Dec. 12, 2019, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin

Janaan M. LeMacher M.S.Ed. ’70 on Jan. 14, 2020, in Watertown, Wisconsin

Jon P. Manalli ’70 on Oct. 27, 2019, in Scottsdale, Arizona

Margitta A. Chaney ’71, M.S.Ed. ’75 on Sept. 21, 2019, in Genesco, Illinois

Larry R. Ludwig ’71, M.S. ’84 on Sept. 9, 2019, in Gilbert, Arizona

Dale McDugle ’71 on Nov. 5, 2019, in Mesa, Arizona

Lee R. Schreiner ’71, M.A. ’77 on Jan. 2, 2020, in Rockford, Illinois

Ronald C. Traven ’71, M.S.Ed. ’75 on Nov. 13, 2019, in Marengo, Illinois

Carol J. VanderMeade ’71, M.S.Ed. ’74 on Aug. 31, 2019, in Crystal Lake, Illinois

Theresa L. Wilkie ’71, M.S.Ed. ’76 on Aug. 19, 2019, in Western Springs, Illinois

Patricia E. Diggs-Lee ’72 on Nov. 26, 2019, in Concord, North Carolina

Scott Feaman ’72 on Oct. 18, 2019, in Chicago, Illinois

Joyce M. Kyle M.S.Ed. ’72 on Feb. 5, 2020, in McHenry, Illinois

Sherrie L. Martuzzo-Miller ’72 on Dec. 21, 2019, in Frisco, Texas

Judith Vargas ’72, Ed.D. ’83 on Jan. 1, 2020, in Aurora, Illinois

Betty Zelent M.S. ’72, C.A.S. ’83 on Feb. 10, 2020, in Lombard, Illinois

David R. Brewster ’73 on Dec. 30, 2019, in Wilmington, North Carolina

Lawrence Carter ’73 on Jan. 25, 2020, in Chico, California

Joanna L. Fay ’73, M.S.Ed. ’77 on Sept. 9, 2019, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

Suzanne M. Hollander ’73 on Jan. 30, 2020, in Rockford, Illinois

Mark McDonald M.S.Ed. ’73 on Sept. 6, 2019, in Rockford, Illinois

Richard M. Sundbo M.S. ’73 on Jan. 19, 2020, in Homosassa, Florida

Michael D. Drager ’74, M.S. ’84 on Oct. 2, 2019, in Duluth, Minnesota

Robert J. Marks ’74, M.S. ’77 on Oct. 6, 2019, in New Lenox, Illinois

Kenneth C. Mundy ’74 on Dec. 3, 2019, in Sycamore, Illinois

Warren Peto M.S.Ed. ’74 on Jan. 5, 2020, in Elgin, Illinois

Sonia J. Wennlund ’74 on Sept. 27, 2019, in DeKalb, Illinois

Janet R. Crowe M.S.Ed. ’75 on Nov. 12, 2019, in Barrington, Illinois

Grace M. Hall ’75 on Oct. 7, 2019, in Rockford, Illinois

William Kayne Kowal ’75 on Aug. 23, 2019, in New Port Richey, Florida

Kerri Lawler-Davis ’75 on Oct. 8, 2019, in Kearneysville, Maryland

Elinor R. VanDyke M.S.Ed. ’75 on Aug. 22, 2019, in Charlevoix, Michigan

Carole F. Anderson ’76, M.S. ’78 on Jan. 14, 2020, in Rockford, Illinois

Dolores C. Bolger M.S.Ed. ’76 on Dec. 12, 2019, in McHenry, Illinois

James H. Maitland ’76, M.B.A. ’79 on Nov. 29, 2019, in New Haven, Connecticut

Beth J. Robertson ’76, M.B.A. ’83, on Oct. 4, 2019, in Barrington, Illinois

Ruthe A. Ferguson ’77, M.S. ’79 on Oct. 23, 2019, in Sonora, California

Karla J. Prostko-Phillips ’78 on Sept. 30, 2019, in Bedminster, New Jersey

Ruth A. Broich ’79 on Feb. 10, 2020, in Aurora, Illinois

Robert Henke J.D. ’79 on May 12, 2018, in Chicago, Illinois

Robert B. Viohl ’79 on Dec. 21, 2019, in Elgin, Illinois

Janet L. Amundsen ’80 on Sept. 23, 2019, in Marquette, Michigan

Katrina W. Winslow-Puckett M.S.Ed. ’80 on Sept. 21, 2019, in Rockford, Illinois

James E. Heffernan ’81 on Dec. 10, 2019, in Hinckley, Illinois

Candace Kane Schultz J.D. ’82 on Sept. 11, 2019, in Winfield, Illinois

Douglas E. Green ’83, M.B.A. ’91 on Feb. 19, 2020, in Simpsonville, South Carolina

Edwin C. Kapper, Jr. ’83 on Sept. 14, 2019, in DeKalb, Illinois

Russell J. Graham ’84 on Feb. 1, 2020, in Wheaton, Illinois

Gayle Swanson ’84 on Jan. 23, 2020, in Rockford, Illinois

Mary Lou Widstrom M.S.Ed. ’84 on Nov. 28, 2019, in Rockford, Illinois

Craig E. Bloomfield ’85 on Nov. 30, 2019, in West Chicago, Illinois

John E. Hardenbrook ’85 on Feb. 1, 2020, in Rockford, Illinois

Kimberly J. Gillespie ’85 on Dec. 15, 2019, in Chicago, Illinois

Dorothy E. Kirstein ’85 on Aug. 3, 2019, in Arlington Heights, Illinois

Rachael A. Corp ’88 on Jan. 9, 2020, in Crest Hill, Illinois

Julie A. Emery ’88 on Jan. 26, 2020, in Pinckney, Michigan

Marie L. Kloster M.S.Ed. ’92 on Dec. 13, 2019, in East Moline, Illinois

Brenda Witherington ’92 on Dec. 30, 2019, in Belvidere, Illinois

Dolores M. Glennon M.S. ’93 on Dec. 19m 2918 in Huntley, Illinois

Holly S. Sanders-Pighini ’94 on Jan. 6, 2020, in Lake Zurich, Illinois

Michael B. Schindel M.A. ’96 on Nov. 25, 2019, in Sugar Grove, Illinois

Erin D. Visser ’96 on Dec. 31, 2019, in Stafford, Virginia

Katie A. Hansen-Ode ’08 on Feb. 18, 2020, in Dekalb, Illinois

Nathan M. Cooper ’09 on Oct. 3, 2019, in Mishawaka, Indiana

Faculty, Staff & Friends

Ruth B. Akers, on Oct. 31, 2019, in Johnson City, New York

Laura Beamer, on Oct. 24, 2019, in DeMotte, Indiana

Susan K. Bean, on Dec. 6, 2019, in Hampshire, Illinois

Colleen D. Bowers, on Sept. 23, 2019, in DeKalb, Illinois

Paul S. Burtness, on Nov. 4, 2019, in Sycamore, Illinois

William Byrd, on Oct. 5, 2019, in Asbury, Iowa

John G. Christiano, on Oct. 17, 2019, in Jupiter, Florida

DeVerne A. Coleman, on Feb. 10, 2020, in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Barbara Curry, on Jan. 12, 2020, in Sycamore, Illinois

Edward G. Cyrier, on Feb. 10, 2020, in Rochelle, Illinois

Louis J. D’Agnolo, Sr., on Sept. 26, 2019, in Rockford, Illinois

Nancy Ann Dester, on Jan. 17, 2020, in Sycamore, Illinois

Christine Dionisopoulos, on Dec. 11, 2019, in DeKalb, Illinois

Janaan Elliott, on Jan. 14, 2020, in DeKalb, Illinois

Richard A. Faerber, on Feb. 10, 2020, in Lake Summerset, Illinois

Jerald D. Floyd, on Feb. 2, 2020, in DeKalb, Illinois

Kim Patrick Gouker, on Sept. 10, 2019, in Byron, Illinois

Philip A. Gray, on Sept. 7, 2019, in Tucson, Arizona

Edward Guida, on Sept. 20, 2019, in DeKalb, Illinois

Mary Henke, on Dec. 14, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois

Doris E. Hoecherl, on Oct. 3, 2019, in DeKalb, Illinois

Robert D. Johnson, on Feb. 13, 2020, in Waterman, Illinois

Robert M. Kennedy, on Nov. 27, 2019, in Tiburon, California

Marjorie Kitch, on Sept. 15, 2019, in Kingston, Illinois

Barry A. Lamb, on Oct. 9, 2019, in Huntley, Illinois

Mabel S. Lichtenheld, on Feb. 1, 2020, in Rockford, Illinois

Mark S. Matuszewski, on Nov. 28, 2019, in DeKalb, Illinois

Khan Mohabbat, on Oct. 19, 2019, in DeKalb, Illinois

Richard B. Mohaupt, on Dec. 23, 2019, in Pecatonica, Illinois

James M. Murphy, on Jan. 14, 2020, in Rockford, Illinois

Beverly Ann Nelson, on Nov. 10, 2019, in Rockford, Illinois

Dewitt Osgood, Jr., on Jan. 25, 2020, in Tigard, Oregon

Forest W. Price, on Oct. 12, 2019, in Rockford, Illinois

Betty J. Ramsdell, on Feb. 4, 2020, in DeKalb, Illinois

John H. Rule, on Sept. 15, 2019, in Pekin, Illinois

Marilyn S. Sahli, on Nov. 12, 2019, in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

Betty L. Schroeder, on Aug. 6, 2019, in Sycamore, Illinois

Margaret J. Stromberg, on Feb. 11, 2020, in Marengo, Illinois

Charles Otto Tucker, on Jan. 25, 2020, in Oakridge, Oregon

Mary Beth Wehrle, on Jan. 14, 2020, in Rockford, Illinois

Wilma C. Wells, on Dec. 1, 2019, in Henderson, Nevada

Kenneth W. Wiese, on Feb. 17, 2020, in Barrington, Illinois

Loris M. Wiltberger, on Nov. 25, 2019, in DeKalb, Illinois

From Your NIUAA President

First and foremost, I would like to express my sympathy to the alumni and their family members who have contracted COVID-19 and are dealing directly with this disease. This has hit us hard and fast.

Originally, this issue of Northern Now was to be filled with stories of successful alumni in the areas of food and hospitality. Instead, we have appropriately replaced our content with real-world stories of alumni who are active in a variety of ways in the fight to beat COVID-19. We are forever grateful for all they have done and their continued efforts to end the tremendous disruption to our lives that this disease has created.

I’m not exactly sure what the “new normal” will be, but I do know that the NIUAA will be here to engage and support our alumni and their families. I’m looking forward to the time when we can have events and are again able to meet each other in person. Regardless of how things play out going forward, one thing I know is that we can count on each other because Huskies never quit!

Stay strong and healthy!

Peter Garrity

Peter Garrity ‘71, M.B.A. ‘76
President, NIUAA Board of Directors

Is There a Pandemic Playbook?

Linda Deering Dean ’87, M.S. ’92

Linda Deering Dean, ’87, M.S. ’92, is the former president of Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin, Illinois, and has seen her fair share of crises in her time as a medical professional.

She also knows how to run an efficient and high-performing hospital, as Advocate Sherman was named a Top 100 Hospital in both 2018 and 2019, according to IBM Watson Health.

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are far-reaching and even unknown to an extent, but Deering Dean anticipates that hospital employees will look to the top for guidance.

While no such “playbook” exists for the coronavirus, the former hospital CEO always had a state-guided emergency plan ready to go. Most Illinois hospitals are connected to the State of Illinois Emergency Preparedness service to help plan, seek supplies, financial support and more, as needed.

“Great leadership is essential during tough times,” Deering Dean said. “While I was at Sherman, we had virtual, live and walk-through drills a few times every year.”

“We had plans for mass casualties, pandemics and active shooters,” she added.

Communication is crucial to long-term success, according to Deering Dean. Before the current pandemic was on the horizon, regular meetings were often held between the hospital administration team with key personnel, not only to help maintain the proper infrastructure but to ensure that the hospital patients would experience the highest standard of health care.

Deering Dean knows that uncertain times are tough on hospital employees, too.

“Most importantly, the hospital leadership needs to help the workforce be safe and supported,” Deering Dean said. “All persons and departments work together for the success of any crisis.”

“Leadership facilitates, guides and supports, yet never in isolation of what the team members know and need,” Deering Dean continued.

No matter how safe the hospital environment is for its employees, Deering Dean knows frontline healthcare workers are still putting themselves in harms’ way at the expense of saving others.

“We must honor and praise the courage and commitment of healthcare workers, now and during any given day,” Deering Dean said. “We need to remember that there are lots of heroes in addition to the nurses and doctors.”

“There are nurse and physician aids, along with all the support services such as lab, pharmacy, radiology, plant operations, food service, and more,” Deering Dean said. “Nothing can happen in the hospital without all these wonderful people.”

“Anyone who chooses to work in healthcare is a hero to me.”

We’re All in This Together

(L-R) NIU Dean of Business Balaji Rajagopalan, NIU Director of Giving John Sentovich and Jeff Yordon ’70.

As a leader in the pharmaceutical drug industry for 46 years, Jeff Yordon, ’70, is using some powerful medicine to fight the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. His prescription: teamwork and harnessing the power of relationships. The combination is proving very effective.

“To win this, we need each other,” he said.

Yordon’s approach is based on a long track record of success on the front lines in the war against life-threatening disease. During his five-decade career, he has won numerous battles and created billions of dollars of value for investors and employees. Since 2015, he has served as the chief operating officer of global biopharmaceutical company Athenex, Inc., with the mission to improve the lives of cancer patients by creating more active and tolerable treatments.

The seasoned executive has seen a lot over the years, but as he wraps up his 10th conference call of the day in his Chicago home office, Yordon says he’s never seen anything quite like the current crisis.

“The healthcare professionals out there helping us fight this thing don’t have what they need,” he said, referencing the national shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE). “Sourcing product is our main focus right now. We will do everything in our power to get these supplies in healthcare workers’ hands.”

That’s a tall order considering the well-documented scarcity of PPE. That’s where Yordon’s network of partners comes in.

Over the course of his career, Yordon has built lasting partnerships with leaders in business, industry and government around the world. Today, those partners are key in helping the Athenex team provide desperately needed PPE for medical workers in hospitals across the country.

The equipment Yordon’s team has offered clinicians includes COVID-19 fortitude and antibody testing kits, ventilators, KN95 face masks, N95 masks, non-surgical masks, face shields, goggles, and sterile isolation gowns. These products come from manufacturers around the world, mostly in China and India.

In addition to providing equipment and supplies, Athenex has also been manufacturing several drugs that are key in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Yordon explains, as the demand far outweighs supply, “antibiotics are a matter of life and death right now.”

The fact that so much of the company’s production takes place in Italy, China and India also presents challenges including, for example, production lockdowns in India. Athenex is one of the major providers of azithromycin injection in the U.S. and, along with its partner in India, the company is trying desperately to keep up with demand.

For people with unrelated medical issues, Athenex has also been helping with the ability for them to take life-saving treatments in their own homes. Yordon says Athenex has several innovative drugs in the pipeline—one of which promises to allow cancer patients to take their chemotherapy in pill form so they would not need to visit a hospital or clinic—a convenience in the best of times and potentially life-saving during a pandemic.

Regarding those drugs, Yordon explains that they inhibit what’s called a permeability glycoprotein, or “P-gp pump” which he said is a protein of the cell membrane that pumps foreign substances out of cells.

He explains, “If you were to eat hot wings tainted with poison, your P-gp pump would kick in and your body would reject and expel the poison by vomiting, etc. Similarly, if a cancer patient were to ingest chemotherapy orally, his or her body would reject all the chemicals before they could fight the cancer. This is why chemo must be administered intravenously. Our oral absorption technology would temporarily turn the P-gp pump off, allowing the patient to take chemotherapy in pill form from the comfort and safety of home.”

An additional benefit of this medication is that it appears to cause substantially less neuropathy (nerve damage that never goes away), and the data would indicate that patients can stay on the medication much longer than the injectable doses. It also appears to prolong life.

The drug has completed Phase 3 clinical studies and the new drug application submission will take place in May. “We anticipate the drug will be approved early next year, and we will launch the product initially for metastatic breast cancer,” Yordon said.

The company has also developed and submitted a new drug application for Tirbanibulin, an ointment that has shown promising results in actinic keratosis, or AK, a pre-cancerous skin lesion. AK is a common disease that affects more than 55 million patients in the United States. If left untreated, 10 to 15 percent of AK lesions will develop into skin cancers. Currently, available treatments cause severe skin reactions. Tirbanibulin ointment is far less damaging to hair and skin cells. This drug will be approved by the FDA in early 2021, and Athenex and its partner Almirall will launch it then.

The alumnus is quick to attribute much of his success to the education he received at NIU.

Yordon is proud of his fellow Huskies for their perseverance during this time and is especially proud of the strong, and decisive leadership of NIU President Lisa C. Freeman. “She is giving her all to protect the Huskie family,” he said. “We are all very grateful for that.”

Yordon has been a passionate investor of both time and money in NIU over the years. His family name graces the Yordon Center, a state-of-the-art athletics facility that serves hundreds of athletes from all 17 athletic programs on campus; he is immediate past chairman of the NIU Foundation Board; and is a regular guest lecturer in classes.

Yordon’s message to students has centered on the value of building relationships, emphasizing the value of partnerships built on trust and mutual respect. Those partnerships have served him well, a fact he regularly shares with students.

Not only have his partners been instrumental in helping save lives through pharmaceutical solutions—they have been helping in today’s crisis in ways we may not have imagined before.

After all, “relationships are what’s most important in life,” Yordon said.

Never has he had a chance to illustrate the value of that lesson more vividly than today.

Michael Vazquez, ’80, Discusses the Hope for Treatments and a Vaccine

Michael Vazquez ’80

As senior vice president, head of chemistry and co-founder of Lynk Pharmaceuticals, alumnus Michael Vazquez, ’80, has expert insight regarding the current race for COVID-19 treatments and vaccines. For his career’s work doing research that has led to commercial anti-HIV products and autoimmune treatments, he received the NIU Alumni Association’s (NIUAA) Alumni Achievement in the Sciences award in March. The NIUAA recently asked Vazquez to discuss what goes into discovering and developing treatments and vaccines for novel viruses.

NIUAA: In your experience, is the 12–18-month timeline for a vaccine realistic?

Vazquez: Based on what I have read and in my own experience working in big pharmaceutical companies, I do believe 12–18 months for a vaccine is possible. However, this is a very aggressive timeline, and it will require a massive, coordinated effort. I think the actual identification of a viable vaccine can be relatively fast. It is running clinical trials to ensure safety and efficacy, and also putting the vaccine into production, that can take some time. What I hope for is that, once vaccine candidates are identified, a coordinated effort among major pharmaceutical companies will accelerate production and clinical testing. Then, I hope there will be a coordinated effort to get early and possibly limited supplies to people with the highest risk of infection. Of course, I want to point out that most people recover on their own from COVID-19, so just reducing the severity and/or length of the illness through treatments may be all that is needed for now.


NIUAA: What is entailed in getting a new medication or vaccine approved?

Vazquez: Investigative compounds are typically given to a small number of healthy volunteers starting at a low dose and they slowly increase the dose to ensure they do no harm. This is called Phase 1 and is done to determine the safety and tolerability of a drug candidate. For example, are there any rashes at the injection site, allergic reactions, serious side effects, etc., at the doses that may be required to treat the virus? This is followed by a Phase 2 study, where select patients are now treated and efficacy is assessed using doses determined to be safe in the Phase 1 study. If Phase 2 is successful, then one or more larger Phase 3 studies are initiated in the target patient population, essentially anyone who might benefit from the new drug. In total, it often takes anywhere from 6–10 years to get a new drug approved.

To shorten the timeline to 18 months means that a lot of these steps need to be done in parallel at great cost, tremendous effort and with a high likelihood of failure, which is why we need multiple vaccine and/or drug candidates to be evaluated simultaneously. There are a couple of opportunities to shorten the development time. One is to use patients in the Phase 1 study, for example, but while some of these patients may benefit, others may not if the dose is too low to have any effect. There is also a significant risk that the treatment could compromise the patients’ health and increase their risk of a negative outcome. Another time-saving opportunity that is highly likely to be used with COVID-19 treatments is that the FDA can allow what is called “compassionate use” of an exploratory (unapproved) compound in life-threatening situations when no other treatment is available. This is typically used after Phase 2 studies have been completed and we know the candidate is safe and works in at least some patients.


NIUAA: How do the medical and pharmaceutical communities work together to find answers?

Vazquez: The medical and pharmaceutical communities are inextricably linked. Pharmaceutical companies cannot deliver new medicines without the medical community, and the medical community is always seeking new treatments for their patients. Large networks of scientists and medical personnel already exist. There are strong bonds within these groups and a common desire to develop new treatments for human diseases, so marshaling these resources to defeat the virus requires nothing more than a shift in focus.

Regulators at the FDA will also play a key role in ensuring safety yet allowing for the rapid development of new treatments for COVID-19. I would be remiss if I did not also mention the role academic and government labs play, doing the basic research into how the virus infects cells and biochemical pathways within the virus that may be good targets for drug intervention.


NIUAA: What encourages you about vaccine and treatment news today?

Vazquez: Large portions of the medical, pharmaceutical and academic communities have shifted their focus and pulled together to identify treatments. This is very encouraging, as this is a tremendous amount of resources devoted to the effort. As I mentioned above, I don’t think for now we need a cure for COVID-19, we just need to lessen its severity. In that respect, I believe we will find some of our existing medicines may be helpful. There is a lot of news about existing drugs, like remdesivir. I am hopeful they will help.

From Katrina to COVID-19

Unprecedented.

The word is defined as “without previous instance; never before known or experienced.”

For the second time in my career in intercollegiate athletics, my university and my athletic department are dealing with an unprecedented situation.

Now, of course, it is the global pandemic caused by COVID-19 which has forced everyone at NIU, across the country and throughout the world, to drastically change nearly every aspect of daily life.

Back in August of 2005, it was Hurricane Katrina and the aftereffects that displaced the residents of an entire city, including the staff and students of Tulane University, where I was the associate athletic director for media relations.

While these two “unprecedented occurrences” are different in many ways, the similarities have had me thinking back to that fall semester of 2005 quite a bit over the last many weeks.

Probably the biggest difference in the two situations is the scope. Hurricane Katrina, and the ensuing breach of the levees, devastated a major American city, the surrounding area and its inhabitants. More than a million people were displaced, nearly 2,000 died and the cost was estimated to be in the $125 billion range.

Those figures seem small now compared to the ones we see in the news today, as most of the country is under a stay-at-home directive and sports arenas, movies, shops, restaurants and bars are closed. More than 116,000 (as of June 15) have died from coronavirus in the United States, more than 5 million people have been infected worldwide. It’s unfathomable.

Aside from the scope of the crisis, the other major difference today, as compared to 2005, is technology.

When Tulane’s student-athletes and staff evacuated the city on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2005—along with anyone who could get out—they packed for a few days, a week at the most. No one dreamed that not only would the staff and student-athletes not be together as a complete group again, but that within 24 hours of leaving the city, just communicating with each other would become incredibly difficult.

Back then, flip-phones were the norm, and most people rarely, if ever, communicated via text. (The first iPhone wasn’t launched until 2007 and smartphones didn’t become “popular” until 2012.) I learned how to text while evacuated during Katrina. Imagine texting “NIU” on a flip phone—punch the 6 twice, then the 4 three times, then the 8 twice! Cell phones were all connected to the area code where you lived (remember roaming?), and when the cell towers in New Orleans went down, phones with a 504 (New Orleans) area code became almost useless, except for texting.

In addition, the floods in New Orleans destroyed the building where Tulane University’s servers were located. Not only were we unable to reach each other via phone, but university emails were also not working. The university website—a main source of information for the entire campus and constituents—was connected to those same servers and inoperable.

One of the first tasks I had to accomplish after evacuating was to compile a list of personal email addresses for the athletics staff, and in many cases, that meant getting coaches and staff to create personal email addresses. The next step was getting phone numbers, as staff had to go to the phone stores in their evacuation sites and secure new, functioning cell phones (mine had an Alabama area code).

Of course, with no smartphones, “social media” had not taken over. (Facebook was first made available to the public in September 2006.) Websites, including Tulane’s official athletics website, as well as newspapers, radio and television were the primary source of news and information.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, communication methods have expanded in order to replace face-to-face interactions. NIU has transitioned to remote learning for its students and staff are able to connect via virtual meetings while working remotely from their homes. Social media is being widely used to keep teams connected with each other and with Huskie fans. Without these types of capabilities, Tulane University was forced to completely shut down for the Fall 2005 semester. The faculty and staff, the students, student-athletes and athletic staff were nomads with no home and no campus.

Today, helpers and heroes—some unlikely, some expected—have stepped up to see us through this time and keep essential services functioning. Healthcare workers, truck and delivery drivers, grocery store and pharmacy workers and public safety officers are continuing to work and serve. In September 2005, the displaced Tulane community found help at every turn.

At the university level, schools across the country offered Tulane students the chance to continue their studies on their campuses, often at no cost. The Green Wave football team, which spent two nights sleeping in a gym at Jackson State University that lost power and air conditioning when Katrina made its way through Mississippi, made it to the DoubleTree Hotel in Dallas three long days after leaving campus. The community brought clothes and food, professional teams reached out with tickets, local schools offered access to facilities, and the national media descended on the hotel looking to tell Tulane’s story.

Unlike today, when the complete shutdown of sports has fans missing watching games and student-athletes unable to compete, the seasons were starting in 2005. College football’s opening weekend was coming up, as was the NFL season. NCAA volleyball and soccer seasons were underway. Just a few days after arriving in Dallas, with no other part of the university functioning at full capacity, Green Wave teams were asked to “carry the torch, be the face and represent the name” of Tulane University by continuing to compete during the fall semester while its students, faculty, staff, fans and the entire community were displaced.

That brought another challenge—finding locations where teams could gather, practice, work out, attend classes, live and even play games. Eventually, the athletic department sent its teams, coaches, staff and their families to four different campuses in Louisiana and Texas, using donated equipment, makeshift uniforms and sharing practice space with teams who opened their doors to the Green Wave.

At both Tulane and NIU, the safety and well-being of our student-athletes has been the top priority. In 2005, that involved making sure the students were safely evacuated from New Orleans, getting them to their new campuses and enrolled in classes, and providing them with room and board, uniforms, equipment, work out gear and more. When seasons were suddenly canceled on March 12, NIU staff and coaches quickly arranged to bring teams that were on the road back to campus. During this stay-at-home order, Huskie coaches and sports administrators organize virtual team meetings via Zoom or Microsoft Teams, academic coordinators arrange tutoring sessions, athletic trainers check-in via text and more. The health and safety of student-athletes, even during a time when teams must be apart, remain at the forefront of our actions.

Both of these unprecedented situations presented (and still present) daily challenges and issues that must be worked through. This was especially true in the early days of the crisis when leaders have to make timely decisions; information must be gathered and plans put into action. Today, just like in Katrina, no one knows exactly what the future—whether next week, next month, three months or a year from now—looks like.

On Thanksgiving Day, 2005, I left the garage apartment in Dallas where I lived that fall and returned “home” to New Orleans, although it was not the New Orleans I had left. Tulane student-athletes completed the semester on their temporary campuses, and the football team finished the season after playing 11 games in 11 different stadiums in 11 weeks. I was there for all of them. On December 18, 2005, the Green Wave women’s basketball team played a home game on Tulane’s campus, the first collegiate or professional competition in the city since Hurricane Katrina.

Today most of us are able to be—in fact, we are required to be—at home. It seems difficult until you think about not being able to get home. We’re able to use technology that goes well beyond text messaging to learn, to work and to connect. Northern Illinois University is up and running, if not in the traditional sense.

When we are able to leave our homes and return to our offices, when businesses re-open, when people can once again gather and the Huskies can take the field, there are sure to be continuing financial, social and societal effects of this COVID-19 crisis. Life may not be the same, but we will adapt, and we will go on.

I’ve seen it before.

Donna Turner is the Associate Athletics Director for Athletic Communications for NIU. She served as Tulane’s Assistant Athletics Director for Media Relations from 2000–06.

A Mask Covers Many Things…

Kerry Boysen ’13

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kerry Boysen, ’13, keeps her focus on providing proper care to her patients, no matter how uncomfortable she may be.

From the moment she steps on the campus of Presbyterian Hospital in Plano, Texas up until the second she leaves, Boysen must wear a surgical mask at all times. She may only remove the mask when changing into a new one.

That is the least of her concerns.

“I am grateful for the protection, but it is uncomfortable and makes it hard to communicate with patients who are hearing impaired,” Boysen said. “I have to make sure my smile makes it up to my eyes because that’s all others can see.”

Boysen’s “smile” and nurturing spirit go a long way for patients who are unable to see their very own family unless they are “actively” dying.

“Patients rely solely on us to provide comfort, especially those who are confused or anxious,” Boysen said. “I’ve had to get creative and hold the phone up to my patient’s ears so they can hear their loved one’s reassurances.”

The stress of Boysen’s job often extends past the walls of the hospital.

“I receive more calls than ever from anxious family members who feel powerless at home,” Boysen said. “I worry about the healthcare workers being harassed in public for getting gas or coffee in their scrubs. Just last night I had a first-time experience of feeling like a leper as my neighbor fled inside her home when she saw me coming home in my scrubs.”

Despite the despair and tragedy of the pandemic, Boysen and her co-workers do their best to maintain a healthy attitude during these tough times.

“As always, the medical staff relies on their dark sense of humor and teamwork to get through the long shifts,” Boysen said. “You have to roll with the punches more than ever as situations can change unexpectedly at any time.”

An unexpected outcome of COVID-19 is that Boysen has been able to reconnect with former NIU nursing classmates who are fighting the same battle in their respective workplaces.

“(COVID-19) has rekindled some old NIU friendships as we all are checking in with each other and sharing our experiences as we are all scattered around the country now,” Boysen said.

It has also rekindled memories and techniques that Boysen learned as an NIU nursing student.

“I am remembering things that I haven’t had to think about in my specialty since nursing school,” Boysen said. “So there’s some nostalgia in these ‘ah-ha’ moments.”

“A lot of the time it’s not learning something new, which nurses do every day, but re-learning something in the far reaches of your brain that has not been relevant until our routine becomes botched by a pandemic.”

Work is a struggle these days for Boysen, but she is encouraged that, while most will never experience what she goes through, they are empathetic in her daily fight against the coronavirus.

“It is undeniable that the current vibe at the hospital is even more tense than usual with grief and uncertainty,” Boysen said. “The community has started to recognize our increased emotional and physical burden and people have offered whatever they can to show their support.”

“It is a beautiful silver lining, but I am worried all the time,” Boysen continued. “My soul is tired, and I never know what my day will bring when I go to work.”

“It is not a question of ‘if any patients will die,’ it is ‘how many patients will die today?’”

This does not even take into consideration Boysen’s concerns regarding her own family.

“I am worried about my older parents with chronic health issues and my brother-in-law on immunosuppressants,” Boysen said. “I am scared to hug and kiss my young children. I’ve asked my all-too-willing husband, who used to smoke, to drink some of my breast milk designated for my baby just in hopes that I can give him some antibodies.”

It is only natural, however, for Boysen to have personal concerns, both mental and physical.

“These patients are SICK,” Boysen said. “Our banquet hall has been turned into a pop-up overflow ER with tents and stretchers. Our PACU (Post-Anesthesia Care Unit) has become an overflow ICU, using the anesthesia equipment as extra ventilators.”

“We are bracing ourselves for impact, and the stress of it is crushing,” Boysen continued. “I recently heard someone use the term Pre-TSD to describe what healthcare workers are feeling. We have the symptoms of PTSD from the anticipation of trauma and the situation has not even peaked yet.”

Boysen is particularly alarmed at the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) for not only herself and her teammates, but healthcare professionals across the United States.

“I am worried that most American hospitals only recommend and supply us with surgical masks when I see other countries’ healthcare workers in HAZMAT suits,” Boysen said. “They save respirators and goggles for special circumstances only.”

“Some hospitals have run out of PPE completely and staff are forced to make their own less-effective protection,” Boysen continued. “Healthcare workers are starting to become patients all over the world and some have died.”

“Nurses do not scare easily. If we are worried, you should be terrified.”