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The Northwell Health Nurse Choir's live performance at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood aired on Tuesday, Aug. 17. It was the group's second appearance on the show, following the choir's audition. Watch the choir's audition here.
Winnie Mele, a resident of Westbury in Nassau County who is the director of perioperative services at Plainview Hospital, is one of the 18 singers in the choir.
She said she auditioned for the group in the fall, which at the time was formed as a virtual choir due to the pandemic.
Around Christmas, the group learned that America’s Got Talent was interested in them coming out to try out for the show, and Northwell chose the 18 singers from the choir to go.
“I am so thrilled," she said. "It is such an honor and a blessing to be part of this whole journey."
Mele said the experience of going from being a nurse in a hospital to coming to Hollywood to perform could be overwhelming, and the members of the America’s Got Talent organization has been very supportive and made the experience fun. She also said she is thankful for all the support from Northwell.
She felt nervous getting on stage during the group's first performance until the moment she started singing.
“For me personally, as soon as I started singing, I felt so good,” she said. “I felt like we were so prepared and I was excited to tell our story. Each song that we pick has a message. It’s very important.”
Mele said the goal of the group's first performance was to send the message both to patients and families, and also other nurses, that nurses are not going anywhere, and they can lean on each other.
During the pandemic, many nurses worked 15 hour-long days on the frontlines and worked through weekends, Mele added.
“During the first wave of COVID, there was no visiting,” she said. “For months, we communicated with families with iPads and phones. We held iPads so that families could watch their loved ones pass away. Stuff that in my 42 years of nursing, I have never seen anything like it."
The song the choir performed on Tuesday, Aug. 17 was "You Will Be Found," which Mele said also sends an important message to patients and families about how nurses will continue to help their patients throughout this pandemic.
"COVID is still here," she said. "It's starting to rear its head again, and we're not going to run away. We are going to be here. So, we're still going to be at the bedside. We're still going to be communicating with you and helping you with your loved ones."
She hopes their performances will inspire others to follow the science, such as getting vaccinated against COVID-19, and make the commitment to take care of each other.
Mele said singing also inspires hope among the nurses about the light at the end of the tunnel after all the difficulties of the pandemic.
"When I sing, I sing of hope," Mele said.
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