Mark S. Zacheis, BSN, RN
Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital
NOVA Chapter 224

Mark Zacheis, an Army Veteran and NOVA member, volunteered for the first Disaster Emergency Medical Personnel System (DEMPS) deployment to New York City in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. He works for the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital (Bedford VAMC) as a Clinical Nurse Educator and was deployed for two weeks to the VA New York Harbor Healthcare System in Manhattan, New York in April 2020.

Mark shares that, “The experience was, at times, heart-wrenching, magnificent, tragic, and euphoric. On so many different levels, this was an experience I will carry with me for life.

The intensity of being at the hospital was amazing. Everybody was treated with respect and incredibly it didn't take long for our team to work like a well-oiled machine. Prior to beginning the actual nursing part of the job, the team leader reviewed everyone's qualifications to see where the best fit was for each volunteer. Personally, I was asked if I had any experience with dialysis, heart monitoring, ACLS, and ventilators. I let them know that I had some experience working as a Spinal Cord Injury nurse at the St. Louis VA as well as several years at the VA Boston Healthcare System. They also asked if I was comfortable working on a medical intensive care step-down unit. Like all the volunteers (now friends) who came to work during this rotation, I said that I would go wherever they needed me. That is where I was assigned; I worked 12-hour shifts/6 days per week.

During my deployment, I couldn’t help but think about Florence Nightingale in the Crimean War, how it all began and the positive impact on health care and clinical outcomes from the good work of nurses. The staff and the many volunteers were truly amazing. I could feel the beauty and teamwork of nursing; cooperation, communication, and collaboration from all. We had the same goal and strived to achieve success. MDs, RNs, LPNs, NAs, Housekeeping, Foodservice, and all the other staff really worked together. One physician on our team was an optometrist, one nurse specialized in urology, another nurse worked in dermatology, and I served as a Prevention and Management of Disruptive Behavior (PMDB) Coordinator, but despite our different backgrounds, we all helped each other, with whatever was needed. 

I am fortunate to have always had a great deal of support from my family and friends. My army training and my parental upbringing helped prepare me for this type of effort. I believe one can never have too many friends and while in New York I was lucky to make more friends who I now consider part of my VA family. The fact that Dr. Joan Clifford, the Director of the Bedford VAMC and Past NOVA President, and her Incident Commander, Sarah Carnes, met me and My Battle Buddy, Karla Calnan, RN, when we returned to our home station on a Sunday meant so much to me.

Throughout my VA career, I have been given numerous opportunities to grow and learn. If asked, I would go back and do another deployment - in a heartbeat. It is an honor to care for those who have served.”