STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The desire to give people the dignity they deserve even when their heart stops beating pushed a funeral director from Utah to come to Staten Island to volunteer at Richmond University Medical Center (RUMC) in West Brighton.
Amanda Acevedo, 41, of Salt Lake City decided to apply to volunteer and help any hospital in the country through the Medical Reserve Corps, and she was connected with RUMC.
Acevedo, who became a funeral director at Larkin Funeral Home in Salt Lake City about three years ago, arrived at RUMC on April 15 and started volunteering as the morgue technician at the hospital.
“With the high volume, you want to make sure that they are still being treated with honor and dignity,” Acevedo said. “And because they are somebody’s loved one, they are loved by somebody out there and they deserve honor and dignity.”
The 41-year-old funeral director said she will be working all 14 days she can volunteer, seven days a week, eight hours a day during the week, and between 10 and 12 hours each day of the weekend.
But that doesn’t scare her.
“These families, they need us right now. And they they need the help,” she said.
The Salt Lake City resident is also used to working extremely long hours at home in Salt Lake City. Not only does she work as a funeral director, but also as a court officer.
Being a funeral director, however, is “where [she] needed to be,” she said.
“It’s who I am,” Acevedo added.
A DIFFERENT WAY A GRIEVING
Acevedo said that because of all the restrictions that were put in place due to the spread of the virus, the families of those who pass away are forced to grieve in a different way than what they are used to.
“With the current situation families aren’t able to come say goodbye,” she said. “Whether they are in the hospital or in a nursing home it’s really hard for them to start the grief process. They were able to come to the hospital and hold their hand as they went out. They were able to come and visit them if they didn’t make it in time and in a nursing home, they were able to be there with them.”
But now things are very different, she said.
“Now they’re being picked up and taken in an ambulance and they don’t see them again,” Acevedo said. “And that’s very hard on the families.”
From mid-March there have been 188 coronavirus-related fatalities at RUMC, said Alex Lutz, the hospital’s spokesperson.
Staten Island overall has recorded 660 deaths, which include both confirmed and probable COVID-19 fatalities, data from the city Department of Health shows.
While the numbers of cases seem to hold steady, “unfortunately the deaths are continuing,” Lutz said.
“They are not continuing as rapidly as they were a few weeks ago. But of course, we are still seeing fatalities,” Lutz said. “And every number that we get every day, it’s more than a number. It’s a person. It’s a family. ...Where Amanda’s unique expertise helps is...she’s not only providing [care] for the actual deceased person, but it extends to their family as well."
A LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE
While Acevedo’s volunteering will end at the end of the month, she said that overall her experience on Staten Island has been life changing.
“It has absolutely changed my life coming here and for the better,” she said. “The people here on Staten Island are very strong. They’re very resilient. And when they need to, they pull together to work together so they can come through strong. ...That has been an amazing experience.”