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vivor, hesitated due to the con- cerns he had about the long-term health effects. "Vaccines need to be safe and effective," he says. "Effectiveness is easy to deter- mine. Safety takes time." He's not worried about immedi- ate allergic reactions or feeling sick for several hours. He's wor- ried how the vaccine will impact his body five years from now, which is essentially an unknown risk factor. He made an appoint- ment with his oncologist to dis- cuss his concerns, and received advice that changed his mind. "He told me the virus was more likely to kill me than the vaccine," says Dr. Blank. The staff at AUA Surgical Center in Amarillo, Texas, are still reeling from that reality. Janine Jones, a 58-year-old registered nurse, died December 4 from COVID-19. She was considered an informal founder of the center, which opened in 2015. Her friends and colleagues knew she scared easy, and laughed hard. She was also a patient and staff favorite. "Even before the facility was built, the owners asked her to apply because they knew and loved her spunk, charm and can-do attitude," wrote an AUA staff member on a Facebook remembrance page after her death. "Around the center, Janine was the first to laugh at a silly joke, a dry comeback or absurd story. Her laugh was often heard through- out our halls during the day. She was joyful in her manner, and generous with her laughs." The post says Ms. Jones wore her RN badge with great pride, which showed in her level of patient care. She looked after her patients as though they were members of her family, and patients called her by her first name by the time they left. She always ended her pre-op assessment by asking if the patient would like her to pray for them. "It was at this moment that Janine would keep even the most cantankerous surgeon wait- ing," says the post. "She would not be rushed through her spiritual care, and her patients loved her for it." AUA Administrator Adam Johnson says nearly every member of his staff wants to be vaccinated, and Ms. Jones's passing played a role in that atti- tude. "Not everyone is educated on the vaccine, and Janine's death absolutely had an effect on them," he says. "It definitely pushed the staff to get vaccinated." Ms. Lindsay always wanted to be a nurse, ever since she took care of her grandmother as a young girl growing up in Jamaica. "I loved caring for her, and she cared deeply for me," she says. "I am who I am today because of her." Ms. Lindsay's grandmother maintained a small classroom in her house where she taught neighbor- hood kids. "After they were gone, I would love to write on the chalkboard, pretending I was teaching just like her," says Ms. Lindsay. "I saw nursing as a profession that incorporates my passions for patient care and education. During this moment in time, I've come full circle. I'm grateful for the tremendous opportunity to share my story." When asked what she'll do when the pandemic mercifully ends, Ms. Lindsay sighs and pauses to collect her thoughts. "I'll go back to my grand- mother's house," she says. "And I'll sit quietly to reflect on all we've been through." OSM F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 1 • O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y . N E T • 2 3 PROOF POSITIVE Providers at Ambulatory Surgery Center of Greater New York show off their vaccination cards. Close to 30% of the staff has received the first dose of the vaccine. Erin Duffy