IKAR Community Sends Support to Medical Staff at COVID-19 Treatment Center

When Francine Nellis and Nikki Gordon heard their friend and fellow IKAR member Dr. Jennifer Sudarsky was working around the clock with underserved COVID-19 patients, they knew they had to help. 

“My heart was breaking because I was so worried about Jennie,” Nellis told the Journal. “She said her staff could use some love.”

Sudarsky had a private practice in Santa Monica but sold it in order to work with COVID-19 patients. She’s currently based at the Pomona Covid Shelter currently operating out of the Pomona Sheraton Hotel. The Pomona Covid Shelter is a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) shelter run by the Los Angeles County Department of Health.

Sudarsky and her team of 75 spend their days and nights here treating a high-risk population — primarily homeless people. Everyone at the shelter has either already previously contracted COVID-19 and is staying at the shelter following hospitalization or is a Person Under Investigation (PUI), suspected of exposure to COVID-19.

Helping out Sudarsky and her team was a no-brainer for Nellis, who met Sudarsky through IKAR and a group of other moms through their children. “Together we have faced every life cycle together,” Nellis said. “Divorce, b’nai mitzvah, death of family members, holidays, community. And this effort is community. The fact that I could go online to my bigger community, IKAR, and tell them one of our own is working in the trenches with the most vulnerable of populations and they responded with assistance, is amazing.”

Nellis reached out on IKAR’s Facebook page asking for donations from the wider IKAR community and people stepped up. She also picked up 100 face shields in varying colors of the rainbow made by a neighbor. She gave the staff the shields with notes and artwork from children. “Jennie said, ‘Don’t forget the shields with the notes, because [the staff] loves the notes,’ ” Nellis explained. She also asked her neighbors in Woodland Hills if she could collect oranges and grapefruits from their fruit trees, and even those who didn’t know her readily agreed.

Gordon also became involved and went on snack runs, and was able to pick up foods including Uncrustables as well as zinc lozenges and vitamins for the staff thanks to donations from IKAR members. 

“The first time I brought a delivery, Jennie invited me to come in and take a tour of the site,” Gordon said. “She explained that the site had cold, warm and hot zones depending on the proximity to the quarantine, so we were in the cold zone. She wanted us to walk around and think of additional ways we could direct our efforts to raise their spirits.”

One of the ideas that sprang up as a result of that tour was to make a special treat. In this case, it was five dozen booze-infused cupcakes, which were a huge hit among the staff. 

“The cupcakes were something they looked forward to for days,” said Sudarsky, who also spends her time working at a homeless shelter in Compton and at an Urgent Care center in Santa Monica. “It really makes you feel so special.”

Now, Nellis, Gordon and Sudarsky are coordinating regular snack runs. 

“The corona is so scary and they are working right in it,” Nellis said. “Any chance to just sit down and eat a chocolate or have a coffee or protein up makes a difference in their day.” 

“The corona is so scary and they are working right in it. Any chance to just sit down and eat a chocolate or have a coffee or protein up makes a difference in their day.” — Francine Nellis

Nellis and Gordon are throwing more surprises into the mix, including a COVID-shaped piñata and seated chair massages. Gordon, who used to be a massage therapist, puts on gloves and treats the staff when she visits. She said that when COVID-19 hit, she “felt really helpless, like I think a lot of people do in the face of the pandemic. There’s a lot of fear and misinformation and I think Francine presented us with a very easy way to contribute and feel like we were doing something. It was an opportunity to help the helpers.”

Sudarsky said that throughout the pandemic, it’s been tough working back-to-back shifts and sometimes staying on until 3:30 a.m. without eating a proper meal. However, the donations have helped her and her colleagues have a more positive outlook. 

“Everyone was so happy because it gets so barren and bleak,” she said. “You have to dress up in all that PPE (personal protective equipment). You’re hot and sweaty. The county supplies us with fluids and sometimes we get leftover meals from patients. But [when we get donations], everybody feels love and compassion and gratitude.”

Gordon said she feels for the workers because they’re particularly isolated right now and need support. “One of the things one of them told me was, ‘Thank you for not being scared of us,’ ” she said. “This is a particularly isolating and lonely moment in their careers. We’re all afraid of getting sick right now but these folks working with sick people are marked as being at greater risk. People are keeping a greater distance. We’re able to close that physical distance.” 

She added, thanks to IKAR members willing to open their wallets, “We’re making a small difference. Somebody cares. If we can do any little bit to lift their spirits, we will do it. Being able to deliver and get them what they ask for is wonderful. We’re letting them know that they’re not alone.”