MIDDLEVILLE, Mich. — A nurse who volunteered to work in the Detroit-area, caring for COVID-19 patients, returned home to Middleville with a warm welcome.
Jenn Martin agreed to work in Wayne County when the hospital she works for in Kalamazoo put out the request for volunteers.
"Being at work, I’m PRN, and so that means that I work just to help out. I'm not actually on schedule. I just pick up shifts," said Martin. "And so I was able to leave for a week and not really take away from schedule there. So I just figured it would be helpful."
Martin spent the past week in Wayne County, doing six overnight shifts.
"I was exhausted because I'm not used to that shift. It’s very busy, and they said it actually slowed down a bit. About 3 weeks ago, it was a lot more busy than now."
On Friday, Martin returned home and was surprised to find her relatives holding signs and waving to say 'thank you.' Then people from the community participated in a parade, which included at least one cruiser from the Barry County Sheriff's Office.
"I’m so overwhelmed with all the support from the community. I mean, my family's been texting me all week and rooting me on. But other than that, I mean, I had no idea.It’s just a great feeling," said Martin.
The gathering was organized by Martin's sibling. She has decided she will stay on an on-call list and will return to the Detroit-area is she is needed in the future.
