States Get Creative To Find And Deploy More Health Workers In COVID-19 Fight
To stop COVID-19, retired doctors are signing up to take clinical shifts. Specialists, including dentists, could move to front line care. And med students are fielding calls in overwhelmed clinics.
When Dr. Judy Salerno, who is in her 60s, got word that the New York State health department was looking for retired physicians to volunteer in the coronavirus crisis, she didn't hesitate.
"As I look to what's ahead for New York City, where I live, I'm thinking that if I can use my skills in some way that I will be helpful, I will step up," she says.
Salerno says she doesn't think of herself as a retiree — she's president of The New York Academy of Medicine, which does public health advocacy. But she is essentially retired from clinical practice.
Because of her age, Salerno is among those at higher risk of serious illness if they contract COVID-19. "But I feel
