Nursing Alum Helping in New York City

Kira Read was born and raised in Cortland. At the age of 38, she decided to become a nurse – enrolling in Tompkins Cortland Community College’s esteemed nursing program and graduating two years later. 

“It was the best thing I have ever done,” she says. “I know that I am doing exactly what I was meant to be doing in life.”

Kira is a nurse at Guthrie Cortland Medical Center and recently began working as a travel nurse at the Roosevelt Island Medical Center in Manhattan, a “makeshift” hospital set up to deal with the COVID-19 Pandemic. 

Can you tell us about what you’re doing in the city … where you are, what kind of working, etc.?
I took a travel nurse position working at Roosevelt Island Medical Center. I work in a "makeshift" hospital that hasn't been open for more than 10 years. I am on a medical unit, which is the type of nursing I did at home while working for Guthrie Cortland Medical Center. 

What job were you doing prior to going downstate? 
I worked for Guthrie on a medical/surgical floor. 

What’s the been the hardest part so far?
The hardest part besides missing my family has been the limited resources at the facility I am working at here in the city. 

What’s been the most rewarding and/or surprising – in a good sense?
The most rewarding has been lining the hallway on the floor and clapping and cheering as we discharge a patient to their home. 

How did TC3 prepare you for this kind of work?
TC3 has prepared me for the diverse nursing world. The school had given me a learning environment filled with variety and embraced diversity in the various roles we were able to pursue as student nurses. 

Nurse Kira Read at Roosevelt Island Medical Center