An intensive care unit nurse with Northeast Georgia Health System donated a diamond art mosaic to Hall County Fire Rescue Thursday afternoon in recognition of the agency's efforts at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The art piece took ICU Charge Nurse Amber Rampy three months to make. Each piece of the mosaic, which features a firetruck, was placed individually with tweezers.
"I was the charge nurse in the COVID ICU through the first 17 months of the pandemic, and we lost a lot of patients," Rampy said. "I think much like the fire services, the hard part was it was all new, we didn't know what we were doing ... I thought they would appreciate a reminder that we acknowledge their efforts, and we see their hard work, and we're all one big team."
Hall County Fire Chief Jerry Smith said it was an honor to receive the piece from Rampy.
"We're going to hang it in our training center where we have a lot of visitors, a lot of firefighters, EMTs, paramedics coming through to get training, and they'll all be able to see this," Smith said. "We have a fantastic relationship with the hospital. We are a big team."
Rampy said she initially began creating diamond mosaic art as a method of therapy.
"It was a nice way to relax and not think about things and just unwind," Rampy said. "I would try to work on it two or three nights a week, and I'd usually work on it a couple of months at a time."
Dr. Mac Hafley, a neuropsychologist with NGHS' Employee Assistance Program, said many nurses and emergency workers are continuing to feel the repercussions of the pandemic.
"The healing work is not done," Dr. Hafley said. "The pandemic is not over for many of our physicians, our nurses, our medics, and the people that we take care of. I just think it's important to recognize that they gave so much for so long and they're still struggling."
