More than one year after the initial COVID-19 surge in Hendricks County, Corinne Moore, RN, is still in disbelief. “I never imagined I would experience a pandemic during my nursing career,” she said. “I can’t believe that one year later, I’m still wearing a mask all day every day, both at work and outside the hospital. I miss seeing people smile.”

Corinne had worked in HRH’s Medical Unit a little over two years when COVID struck. She can’t say enough about how well the team responded to the pandemic. “I think we did a really good job,” said Corinne. “We didn’t have specific training to address a pandemic, so we were overly cautious. If we observed a patient’s condition getting worse, we acted immediately rather than wait to see if it would improve.”

She recalls the time as being very stressful and, occasionally, scary. “The unknown surrounding COVID was nerve-wracking,” said Corinne. “I worried about our patients and whether we were doing enough for them. I worried about bringing COVID home to my family. We took all the necessary precautions, but it felt like living in constant fear.”

Despite the way the pandemic challenged healthcare workers in the past year, Corinne maintains an upbeat attitude. “There are so many parts of my job that I enjoy,” she said. “I really like the people I work with. And no two days are the same. With every shift, I learn something new.”

Working at HRH completes the circle of life for Corinne, in a sense. She was born here as were all three of her children. Growing up in Amo, Corinne has watched HRH grow considerably. “It’s been really exciting to follow but I’m happiest that we still feel like a community hospital,” she said. “It’s easy to build trust with many of our patients because they live in or around Hendricks County. It’s wonderful that we offer such a wide range of services now, but I think people who live here appreciate most that we haven’t lost sight of our roots.”