Paul Martinka
Meet 33-year-old Dwayne Brown. He’s a full-time RN at Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center in Brownsville. At the peak of the coronavirus crisis, Brown was working 20-hour shifts and forfeiting his days off to work. Wow. Talk about dedication and we should all admire and respect him for it.
Early on his mother caught the virus and so did a few of his coworkers and friends but he made sure to take care of them like they were his patients.
“I live in Flatbush, it’s mostly a Caribbean area, and I really like to care for people within my community because most of them are disenfranchised and they don’t have a lot of education, there’s a lot of poverty and a lot of crime and violence so as a nurse and as a good nurse, I really wanted to stay within my community and help them and show them love,” Brown, a Jamaican native, told The Post.
“I wasn’t even resting on my day off, even though I am off my main job I am still working. I am here walking to my
friends’ houses to make sure they are fine. I was basically working seven days a week. Paid and unpaid.”
Brown said the non-stop workload was a lot to handle, especially when the crisis was in full swing at the hospital.
“I came in to help the night shift and there were only 3 nurses at night and usually there’s like 11 or 12 nurses,” Brown recalled.
“I had 19 patients … it was very stressful trying to keep everybody alive.”
Brown has worked 20-hour shifts regularly when the hospital was short on nurses and said one night, he worked for 24-hours straight.
We thank you for your service and dedication Dwayne Brown.
