Meet Hannah: #BSFBeatCOVID19

Published: March 15, 2021

Meet Hannah: #BSFBeatCOVID19

Meet Hannah. She and her husband are Army veterans. Today, Hannah serves in the Army Reserve and she’s also a labor and delivery nurse and mom to two young kids. As an essential worker, Hannah has had to navigate keeping her family safe while being there for her patients. “What scares me most is potentially bringing COVID home to my family and them getting sick because of me,” she said. “But my patients keep me going. They are scared too. This is not the delivery experience anyone was hoping for, but they have all persevered.”

Hannah has a very unique understanding of that fear and not getting the delivery experience you imagined. In addition to being a labor and delivery nurse, Hannah gave birth to her second child in October of 2020. She’s been on both sides and intimately knows the struggles pregnant women have faced during this pandemic. “I remember my first delivery having to wear a mask and feeling so disconnected from my patient,” Hannah recalled. “It felt so impersonal, but now it’s a part of our daily routines and is keeping people safe.”

Keeping people safe is exactly what Hannah had in mind when the COVID vaccine was approved and made available to healthcare workers. She knew this was an opportunity to keep her patients safe, herself safe, and, most importantly, her family safe. The vaccine also offers Hannah a way to protect her newest little one potentially, too. She’s currently breastfeeding and is hopeful she’ll pass some of the protection from the vaccine to her daughter. 

It’s so important to feel your family is safe at home. As a former active-duty Army service member and now a reservist, Hannah knows firsthand that when a military family is supported and protected, service members can focus on the mission. “I wish that everyone could recognize what a great step this is for science and humanity as a whole,” Hannah said. “The health care community and the military community, too, should be the example for the public to get the vaccine as soon as it becomes available. The military is about readiness, and we can’t be “ready” if troops are getting sick and needing to quarantine. We need to be the example for the public.”

Together with our Blue Star Partners, we’re arming our military community–service members, families, veterans, leaders, organizations, and supporters–with information to make informed decisions about the vaccine. We’re doing this by removing barriers and improving access to the information needed to protect everyone against the virus. Join us at bluestarfam.org/beatcovid19, and follow along on social media with the hashtag #BSFBeatCOVID19.