Meet the Outreach Nurses: Ariel, Dorothy and Missy
These
extraordinary women—Ariel, Dorothy, and Missy—bring their skills and dedication
to the streets of Los Angeles to care for people experiencing homelessness,
with an emphasis on COVID-19 testing, treatment and vaccinations. And as our
unhoused neighbors continue to be hit so hard by the pandemic, we are grateful
for their tireless work for our community. They are an inspiration to us all.
Meet Ariel
Ramirez, EMT
What is your
job title and what do you do at work? I am an EMT at the Department
of Health Services for Los Angeles County. I am part of a multidisciplinary
team that consists of RNs, PAs, other medical professionals, and community
outreach workers that are familiar with people experiencing homelessness (PEH).
As a team we go to encampments
around West LA and offer basic medical care with an emphasis on COVID-19
testing. If someone is symptomatic or comes back positive for COVID-19, we
offer Quarantine Isolation hotels where patients can recover in a safe and
clean environment staffed with medical professionals. If they choose to
stay at their location, we will provide wellness checks. At the beginning of
February 2021, we also started holding COVID-19 vaccination events for PEH. Where do you
work? I work in West LA covering
encampments in cities like Venice, Santa Monica, Culver City, and Malibu. What makes
your job unique? Our work environment is the
streets of LA. Instead of having patients come to us, we go to them. We go to
different encampments every day and offer medical services, food, hygiene
supplies, and try to connect people to important resources. We have to carry
all our medical equipment and testing supplies with us to work in the field and
every day is different. What do you
love to do away from work? I love being outdoors and
spending time on hiking trails. I would love to go to more national parks in
2021! What is the
most memorable moment from the past year? My most memorable moment from
the past year was administering my first COVID-19 vaccination in early February
2021. California expanded the scope of practice to allow EMTs to administer the
vaccine which was very exciting for me! That day was what my whole team had
been working towards and preparing for so many months. What women
inspire you? My mom! She has been a labor
and delivery nurse for 25 years and sparked my interest in healthcare. She
first taught me the important basics of patient advocacy and the importance of
educating patients so they can make the best, most informed decisions about
their own healthcare. What message
would you share with the DOLAN community? Everyone has a unique story and
you never know what people are going through, so please be kind!
Meet Dorothy
Desty, RN
What is your
job title and what do you do at work? I’m a registered nurse and I
work with the DHS COVID response team, assisting in providing medical care to
the homeless population. Where do you
work? I work in SPA 5 (Service Planning Area 5)
of Los Angeles County. We cover Santa Monica and Venice. What do you
love to do away from work? I enjoy making candles during
my time away from work. What is your
key lesson learned in the past year? The key lesson I’ve learned in
the past year is that you should never take anything for granted. In my
everyday life it’s easy to not realize how blessed I truly am, but in serving
the community that I work with it’s hard to go on about my day not realizing
just how blessed having access to everyday things such as a hot meal or a place
to call home can be, especially during a pandemic. What women
inspire you? My mother and my sister inspire
my nursing career and everyday life. After my mother had a stroke and went
through years of physical therapy and having to start all over and learn to
walk again, I knew I could never give up on whatever challenges I would face
later on. My sister overcame breast cancer while raising two small children and
even after recovering she ended up fostering two more children which taught me
that there’s always more room in our hearts to love. What message
would you share with the DOLAN community? There’s always a way. During
difficult times and through hardships there is always something positive
waiting for you at the end of the dark times.
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Meet Missy Garcia, RN
What is your
job title and what do you do at work? I’m a member of Crisis COVID-19 response team from
DHS-LA County Outreach for PEH (people experiencing homelessness). My job is so unique—we go out in the streets of Los
Angeles County, covering all its cities and municipalities which is wide in
landscape area. We walk miles from flat, rugged, mountainous, wash and
riverbanks, under bridges, encampments, parks, and other places where very
few healthcare team members dare, to serve the most vulnerable, marginalized,
underserved and
already suffering citizens of LA County. Before COVID-19, I was a member of St. Rose of
Lima Master Chorale Choir, which I loved the most. I also dance and am able to
cook. I am also an avid traveler and love traveling...to date I've been to
34 countries in the world. Still looking forward to traveling sometime when our
crisis is over. My memorable moments for the past year were meeting
new colleagues in the healthcare industry, who are brave enough to join and
battle the COVID-19 pandemic selflessly—not knowing the outcome and with no
cure for a highly contagious disease. It’s like walking in darkness. My mom, dad and my family are the best source of my
inspiration despite their imperfections. Mother Teresa of Calcutta is another
one. But there are so many, to count them all, especially the unseen brave
women... we will never know nor meet. For all our DOLAN Community I say: you can never
break a rope that is woven as one. The strength is enormous, and the road
is endless. I end by saying a helping hand is a chain that can never be broken
because all it takes is one person or one company to keep it rolling.
What makes
your job unique?
What do you
love to do away from work?
What is the
most memorable moment from the past year, and what is your key lesson learned
in the past year?
One key lesson I learned is that no matter how
new COVID-19 is, there’s always someone so brave and so optimistic
that a solution will come, regardless of its veracity or mystery. Hard to
break human spirit—it is the identity of our genome.
What women
inspire you?
What message
would you share with the DOLAN community?
Dorothy, Ariel and Missy serving at The Laundry Truck LA (where they were met with some beautiful flowers from our founder, Jodie!)
DOLAN’S Everyday Healthcare Heroes is an ongoing series featuring some of the women who are working so hard, day in and day out, and making such an enormous difference in our lives. If you are a healthcare worker, please click here to request a questionnaire for sharing your story with us. Or, if you know of someone you’d like to nominate for us to consider spotlighting, please send us their name and contact information.
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