Mike Johnson
news@greenepublishing.com
Henry Hernandez is a Respiratory Therapist at Madison County Memorial Hospital. He had never thought about going into the medical field as a young boy, but he needed to find something new due to lay-offs from a warehouse where he worked and construction slowing down. Looking in the Yellow Pages, Hernandez found an ad for a respiratory therapist. He thought that the pay was good and benefits could help out, so why not give it a try? Now, Hernandez has been in the medical field for 30 years and still counting.
Hernandez started his career at Live Oak's hospital and worked there for over 20 years. After serving many people for many years in Live Oak, they shut down due to being bought out and operated as an emergency care facility. Many health caregivers and employees lost their job that day. Hernandez had to transfer to Lakeshore Hospital, in Lake City, where he had to learn new machines, had new coworkers and new protocols. After three months, Lakeshore was closing for the same reason as the Live Oak Hospital, but this time, there was no emergency room being left open. With this final shut down, Hernandez transferred to Madison County Memorial Hospital. If dealing with all these shutdowns wasn't bad enough, it all happened during the COVID outbreak.
During the COVID outbreak, Hernandez not only had to learn the new ways of Madison's hospital but the procedures implemented for COVID as well. Having to gown up head to toe, wear masks, gloves and goggles with every patient was something new that he had to get used to. Dealing with a new respiratory illness in an unfamiliar facility forced him to learn and change old habits to battle the illness quickly. He and his team did everything they could to keep patients off of bed respirators; utilizing steroids, oxygen systems and just keeping them as comfortable as possible.
Hernandez is a man of faith, giving thanks to God for helping him overcome all the obstacles laid in front of him. He is a loving husband to his wife of 29 years, Laurie and a wonderful father. In his time off from the hospital, he preaches and organizes events for their shul, works to take care of their home and daughter with Down Syndrome.