Healthcare workers throughout South Florida get a morale booster with Blue Angels

With the coronavirus pandemic, what medical professionals all across the world are experiencing right now is shocking, draining and totally new to most of them.

"I’ve been a nurse for over 20 years and obviously like everyone will tell you, we’ve never seen anything like this in our entire career," Lotta Siegel, director of nursing, Critical Services Memorial Hospital West, said.

That's why the United States Navy Blue Angels have been doing flyovers all across the country in a salute to those on the front lines.

On Friday, for health care workers at Memorial West who could venture outside for a bit, enjoy the fresh air and see the flyover, they said it did a lot for their moral.

The Blue Angels started in Boca Raton on Friday about 1 p.m. before heading south down the coast, turning around in Homestead, then going north again through central Broward County, providing a much needed boost to so many.

“This was very patriotic, it lifted a lot of people’s morale, it was really, really great. Really appreciate that the angels did this," Terasia Allensworth with Premier OBGYN said.

“Seeing the flights come over across was just amazing, You couldn’t watch without getting goosebumps and just realizing we’re all in it together. It’s been stressful on the staff but I think we have some really good team and today really highlighted the fact that others out there are elevating us as well, thinking about us and cheering us on,” Siegel said.

In Fort Lauderdale, health care workers followed in the sky with their eyes and Smart phones as the seven jets in their majestic formation left behind a trail of awe and gratitude.

“Just the tribute that up lifts you and makes you feel great and tells us that people really care about us for helping out," Johnny Karpiak, Trauma Nurse Practitioner said.

Local 10 viewers sent their videos from backyards in Homestead to over Baptist Hospital to from high-rises on Brickell. From Homestead to the Blue Angels in their tribute over downtown Miami that could be seen from Mount Sinai.

In Fort Lauderdale, eight year old cancer patient Thomas Boegler, got to join in, too. He has been in the hospital since December and was able to see the big blue jets in the sky.

“Definitely a boost of morale. It’s been hard," Erica Schaefer, a Broward Health nurse, said


About the Authors:

In January 2017, Hatzel Vela became the first local television journalist in the country to move to Cuba and cover the island from the inside. During his time living and working in Cuba, he covered some of the most significant stories in a post-Fidel Castro Cuba.