Lexington nurse back home after working front line in New York

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – A Lexington nurse who went to New York to battle the pandemic is back home.

Suzi Frase volunteered at Interfaith Hospital in Brooklyn for a month, after she heard how overwhelmed New York hospitals were.

She left last week, and says the number of COVID-positive patients was slowing down, but the work in the hospital hasn’t stopped.

Three months into the global pandemic, and back in Kentucky, Frase is reflecting.
She says Interfaith still lacks resources and funding, which further reveals inequality seen across the U.S.

“It’s mostly African American clientele, and I just kept thinking that if this hospital had white patients that it wouldn’t be this critically underfunded.”

Frase says she often had to advocate for her patients. She says she even put herself at odds with other staff by demanding the best treatment possible, even though chances for survival were low.

“It just shouldn’t be that hard to advocate for something so basic,” Frase says.
She says she’s home quarantining until she gets results from her COVID test, but when she’s able to go out, she wants to see people wearing masks.

“I don’t want people to live in fear, but i also want people to understand that’s there’s a very real need to wear a mask,” Frase says.

She documented her four weeks in New York by sharing several live videos on Facebook.
Frase put a face on millions of health care workers battling the pandemic, and she says it proved helpful to many.

“I did get a lot of feedback from people who said they understand more about the virus and they take it more seriously because of me,” Frase says.

She says she’s still willing to go wherever she’s needed, but until then, she’ll be enjoying her time home with her pets.