Va. public health nurse inspires sons to quit their jobs, join fight against COVID-19
ARLINGTON, Va. (7News) — Quitting their jobs to help end the pandemic. That’s what some Springfield, Virginia men did after being inspired by a public health nurse who has been on the front lines responding to COVID-19. The nurse that inspired them to change careers is their mom.
“I’m a pretty proud mom,” said Michele Fletcher, a lifelong resident of Springfield, who has seven children.
As a public health nurse, Fletcher set an example for her kids that when people need help, it’s time to get to work.
“It was devastating to see all the loss of life and illness and sickness,” said Fletcher.
Ending that sickness and loss of life is what compelled four of Fletcher’s sons to join the fight against COVID-19 and go to work with their mom at Arlington County Public Health.
“My son Michael is working here,” said Fletcher. “He is in charge of the volunteer coordinator. And we’ve got Kyle. He’s registration. And then we have Brendan as registration support where you go if you have problems with registration. And I’ve got Nick. He’s the oil of the machine as he tells me. He’s logistics, so he makes sure we have everything on-site that we need for the site to run smoothly.”
“My mom is definitely one of the hardest workers I’ve ever met in my life,” said Nick Fletcher. “She has raised seven children. She administered my vaccine to me. Which was really cool.”
Before working at Arlington County Public Health, Nick Fletcher said he was hesitant in getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
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“Just being here and hearing some of the stories from clients who have come in and lost loved ones or friends and family and seeing how thankful they are that really opened my eyes to see how important it was to get everybody vaccinated,” said Nick Fletcher.
“I think we’ve been very fortunate that we’ve been able to be together in the pandemic,” said Mike Fletcher.
Mrs. Fletcher’s sons said working together in a professional environment has made them even closer as a family. The men say the experience reminds them of when they were younger.
“It feels sort of like getting ready for school when we were kids,” said Mike Fletcher, who added another perk of working together is packed lunches from mom.
“It has been a joy to work with them,” said Mrs. Fletcher. “It’s very usual. I can’t imagine what other circumstances we would be working together as a team. So, it’s really nice.”
ALSO READ: You should still get vaccinated after having COVID-19, new study says
7News spoke with the Fletcher family at the Lubber Run Community Center. The community center was recently built and eventually transformed into a county vaccination clinic. All vaccination sites within Arlington County are accepting walk-ins for the COVID-19 vaccine. You can find a site near you by visiting this link.
See our full interviews with Michele, Nick and Mike Fletcher below.
