Eisenhower Health installs COVID-19 memorial
Eisenhower Health in Rancho Mirage has installed a memorial to mark the impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on our community.
“There hasn’t been a global public health crisis of this magnitude for 100 years and I felt compelled to create a monument to ensure we will never forget the impact Covid-19 has had on all of us,” said Martin Massiello, Eisenhower Health's president and chief executive officer.
The monument stands on sits on a granite circle surrounding one of the hospital's five stars. At each of the five points on the star sits a triangle-shaped metal filler with each representing the hundreds of people who the hospital have battled COVID at the hospital, whether they survived or passed away. The other three fillers represent Eisenhower's staff, physicians, the community and its generous donors.
Each filler has a stars laser cut into the filler, ascending from the bottom to the top, representing those who died of Covid-19.
The stars are lit from within, so they can twinkle with hope at night.
An excerpt from Mr. Massiello’s message to staff:
“Take a moment if you will and visit the memorial. Spend a few minutes remembering the fear and anxiety, the uncertainty that we all experienced and finally the gratitude we all bear for the courage of our staff and physicians, the teamwork we experienced in battling the disease, and the hope for a better day forward. I personally want to thank you for the care and compassion you give each and every day to our patients and for each other. YOU are the stars that make Eisenhower Health the trusted, quality organization that we are for the entire Valley community.”
Carl Enzor, an employee of Eisenhower Health says, “I’ve always felt valued as a nurse and as an individual. COVID challenged so many over the past 18+ months. So many of us ask ‘how are we going to let go of this experience and move on’. This new memorial is now a focal point to touch, a tangible reminder, a place where we recognize everyone who has been touched by this pandemic and a place for us all to leave the trauma and move on to provide the care we are so proud to offer.”
A public dedication ceremony will be scheduled in 2022.
Since the start of the pandemic, Riverside County has reported 5,353 COVID-19 deaths. 1,079 of those deaths have been in the Coachella Valley.
