‘The heart of the hospital is gone.’ Longtime North Carolina nurse dies of COVID
A Western North Carolina nurse with 20 years on the job spent some of her final days at the place she loved to work.
“The very people she worked with side-by-side every day were the ones who took care of her,” G’Lellier Matthews said, according to WSOC.
Matthews told news outlets her mom, Madalyn McMahan, contracted COVID-19 — and wouldn’t have sought treatment anywhere else but Caldwell UNC Health Care, the hospital where she spent decades of her career.
About two weeks after McMahan was admitted as a patient, she died Monday at age 58.
“I feel like the heart of the hospital is gone,” longtime co-worker Elizabeth Smith said, according to The News-Topic. “So many people care for her, and so many people’s lives she’s touched.”
During the pandemic, the coronavirus has posed a risk to hospital employees. In North Carolina, health care workers with risks for exposure were among the first people eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccines.
McMahan, who worked in cardiac care, is remembered by fellow medical workers as a beloved “mother figure” who advocated for patients, according to a Facebook post and The News-Topic.
“Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of our long time coworker and friend, Madalyn (McMahan),” Laura Easton, president and CEO of Caldwell UNC Health Care, told McClatchy News in an emailed statement. “As a wise and experienced registered nurse on our night shift, Madalyn help teach, guide and nurture many nurses.”
While McMahan spent most of her career at the hospital located roughly 75 miles northwest of Charlotte, she had 25 years of nursing experience under her belt. When she wasn’t on the job, she was active at Zion Baptist Church, an obituary says.
Her daughter, who also works as a nurse and was diagnosed with COVID-19, is urging people to wear face masks, wash their hands and take other precautions to help protect against the virus, The News Herald of Morganton reported.
“You don’t want any more devastation than what it’s already caused so many people out there,” Matthews said, according to the newspaper.
This story was originally published January 29, 2021 at 10:24 AM with the headline "‘The heart of the hospital is gone.’ Longtime North Carolina nurse dies of COVID."
