The Hospital That Never Sleeps, Hudson Valley Hospital Center

CORTLANDT MANOR, N.Y. – While families gather around the Christmas dinner table or light the candles on the menorah, there will be some conspicuously empty chairs. Nurses at the Hudson Valley Hospital Center work 12 hour shifts through Christmas Day and Christmas Eve, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

“I don’t mind it at all,” said Rosa Tyo, “It’s the season of giving and I think it’s crummier to be a patient.” The hospital receives all kinds of patients on Christmas Day, from small children with sore throats, cases of indigestion and what could be more serious cases of chest pain.

Tyo is an emergency department nurse who has worked at the hospital for eight years. She is one of nearly 80 nurses and 20 technicians who will work the 24 hours of Christmas Day.

“You know going into nursing that nursing is 24 hours, and it doesn’t stop because there’s a holiday,” she said.

“It’s a way of life,” said Clinical Coordinator Anna Slempa, who has worked at the hospital 33 years. “We’ll celebrate the day before, and we have to thank our families for being supportive,” she said.

Slempa said for inpatients, the hospital brings carolers around the hospital, decorates the halls, and places Christmas trees in some rooms.

The nurses also bring in food for Christmas Day, “We already have a list going” said Tyo, and all of the various units receive baskets from physicians showing their appreciation.

Along with nurses and technicians that work on Christmas Day, an operating room team of about a half dozen people are also on call, as are physicians of all types. Ear, nose and throat doctors, orthopedic surgeons and ophthalmologists among others are all on call.

Tyo said the hospital staff has to be ready for it, “if it could possible walk through the door.”

While the hospital is busy during the holiday season, as all of us are, there are not necessarily more people on. There is always an OR team on call, there are always numerous physicians on call, and combing day and night shifts, the hospital usually has about 80 nurses on.

Aside from decorations, carolers and extra treats, this is just another day at Hudson Valley Hospital Center.

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