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Donated Camper to The Rescue: A New ‘Zen Place’ for Frontline Nurse
May 13, 2020
As COVID-19 cases were on the rise at Hartford Hospital, Tracy Hespelt, a document control administrator at the hospital, read something on social media that caught her eye.
People in other parts of the country were donating the use of their recreational vehicles to healthcare workers on the frontlines, providing a place for them to live nearby yet away from their families to prevent the spread of the virus.
Tracy and her husband, Bobby, agreed and a plan was hatched. Their well-traveled camper would be taken out of its winter slumber to help a colleague at Hartford Hospital. Tracy reached out to Patti Veronneau, Director of Acute Patient and Family Transitions, and informed her of the offer. The only thing left was to identify a recipient.
Meanwhile, in the the hospital’s Conklin Building, nurse Stephanie Legere was busy treating COVID-19 patients on C8I, which, before the pandemic, was a surgical-trauma intensive care unit. Providing care and comfort to patients with the virus would be stressful enough for anyone, but Stephanie was worried about things at home. Her boyfriend has a heart condition, making him especially vulnerable to the coronavirus. Her senior citizen parents also live in her household, and she was concerned about them, too. Stephanie worried about coming in and out of her home, putting her loved ones at risk of infection.
Thanks to the generosity of Tracy’s family, Stephanie now has a home away from home on her property in South Windsor. Stephanie, shown above at left with Tracy, calls the camper her “Zen place.”
The 36-foot Class C motorhome, above, has taken the Hespelt family to several states, journeying as far south as North Carolina, west to Niagara Falls, and all over New England. Bobby dewinterized it by reconnecting and charging batteries, flushing plumbing lines, sanitizing the fresh water tanks and more. While he was taking care of the mechanical details, Tracy enlisted the help of her book club, who chipped in to stock the camper with refreshments, toiletries and other sundries to make the space comfortable for Stephanie.
Stephanie was shocked at how quickly the plan came together.
“I went to my manager one day, and the next day I had an RV,” she said, recalling the sight of a camper pulling into her driveway. “It’s such a relief to be right there at my home. I don’t feel totally isolated.”
Tracy says she feels good to be able to help a colleague, and Stephanie will use the camper for as long as she needs.
“We’re so happy that this is allowing Stephanie to stay near her family and still get to work without being in a hotel,” she says. ”It’s made her life a little easier and relieved some stress. We weren’t going to be utilizing it, so why not?”
This gesture means a lot to Stephanie. “As a nurse, we are getting so much support from the community and patient families,” she said. “We need it so much to get us through. We are wiped-out at the end of a shift. They are helping us take care of patients.”
She has a message for Tracy, Bobby and the book club.
“They have made sacrifices to help us, and it is so helpful. They were so thoughtful to think of small things – snacks, refreshments, even aroma therapy. It’s a place I can call home, not just a place to crash.”
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