Brunswick County first responders hold parade for hospital workers

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) - Across the country, essential workers go to their jobs, knowingly putting themselves at risk of contracting COVID-19.

It takes a sense of duty and courage to do so, and on Wednesday some frontline workers took time out of their day to show appreciation for their healthcare counterparts.

Dozens of sheriff’s deputies, police officers, and emergency medical service workers paraded by the entrance of Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center as a way to say thank you.

That feeling of gratitude was very much echoed by hospital staff.

“It’s just overwhelming to know we’re all in this together. They’re at the frontlines, too. EMS and law enforcement are going into homes not knowing what they’re going into and then bringing those patients here to us so it’s a team effort here in this community,” said Shelbourn Stevens, President of Brunswick Medical Center.

The first responders got out of their vehicles to applaud the doctors, nurses, and staff, giving them a much-needed morale boost.

“I think it shows a really great support system in our community. I think we’re really lucky that the size of the community that we are that we’re able to do this and I think you can see by the outpouring of everybody and the cheering it’s fantastic,” said surgical services nurse Cynthia Parrott.

While the rest of the country is calling healthcare workers heroes, Parrot says she and her coworkers are simply doing their jobs.

“I don’t look at myself as a hero and I think most of the staff and the frontline team would say they don’t feel like heroes. This is what we’re trained to do. It is a different set of circumstances most of us have not experienced in our lifetime and likely will not experience again but I think it’s a hard word for a lot of us to fathom because we don’t look at ourselves as heroes. This is our job, this is what we do and it’s a passion and it’s a calling,” she said.

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