uci school of nursing alum and clinical instructor kim hicks went to super bowl lv in february 2021

UCI School of Nursing graduate and UCI Health ICU nurse Kim Hicks at Super Bowl LV in Tampa, FL.

When NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced that the league would invite nearly 7,500 fully vaccinated healthcare workers to Super Bowl LV, ICU nurse Kim Hicks got writing.

Hicks, who is also a graduate of the UCI Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing and a clinical instructor, penned the letter that earned her and her colleagues at UCI Health tickets to the big game.

Here is a moving excerpt from her message:

“When we take care of COVID patients, we know that we are at risk of contracting this virus, as evidenced by seeing our coworkers and community get sick around us. We know that someone has to care for the COVID patients and we are honored to answer the call.  

Since we found out in March that we would be taking the COVID patients, we have not had a single shift without one. As PPE [personal protective equipment] became more available, we are so grateful to our hospital for providing us with what we needed to take care of these patients and for advocating for extended sick time and benefits for their frontline workers, including installing the proclamation that ‘Heroes Work Here’ in front of our hospital.  

We truly benefited from working at a research-based facility and were able to see the treatment progress against COVID happen in real time as our administrators and physicians fought for the most advanced and new treatment modalities.”

Hicks says the experience was incredible.

“Everyone in the healthcare community has been rocked so hard by COVID. The fact that we were able to come together and experience a taste of what it’s going to be like to return to normal activities again was a great motivator to continue to work hard and champion getting vaccinated.”