Nursing Alum Helping in New York City
Kira Read was born and raised in Cortland. At the age of 38, she decided to become a nurse – enrolling in 첥Ƶ Cortland Community College’s esteemed nursing program and graduating two years later.
“It was the best thing I have ever done,” she says. “I know that I am doing exactly what I was meant to be doing in life.”
Kira is a nurse at Guthrie Cortland Medical Center and recently began working as a travel nurse at the Roosevelt Island Medical Center in Manhattan, a “makeshift” hospital set up to deal with the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Can you tell us about what you’re doing in the city … where you are, what kind of working, etc.?
I took a travel nurse position working at Roosevelt Island Medical Center. I work in a "makeshift" hospital that hasn't been open for more than 10 years. I am on a medical unit, which is the type of nursing I did at home while working for Guthrie Cortland Medical Center.
What job were you doing prior to going downstate?
I worked for Guthrie on a medical/surgical floor.
What’s the been the hardest part so far?
The hardest part besides missing my family has been the limited resources at the facility I am working at here in the city.
What’s been the most rewarding and/or surprising – in a good sense?
The most rewarding has been lining the hallway on the floor and clapping and cheering as we discharge a patient to their home.
How did TC3 prepare you for this kind of work?
TC3 has prepared me for the diverse nursing world. The school had given me a learning environment filled with variety and embraced diversity in the various roles we were able to pursue as student nurses.
Nurse Kira Read at Roosevelt Island Medical Center
