Kious Jordan Kelly, a nurse at the Mount Sinai West Hospital in New York, died last week after contracting coronavirus. Photo / AP
Kious Jordan Kelly, a nurse at the Mount Sinai West Hospital in New York, died last week after contracting coronavirus. Photo / AP
New York City nurse Kious Jordan Kelly, 48, died of coronavirus on Tuesday, after spending weeks treating Covid-19 patients.
On March 18, he sent a final text to his sister Marya Sherron while on a ventilator in the intensive care unit, saying: "Can't talk because I choke and can't breathe. I love you."
Working as an assistant nursing manager at Manhattan's Mount Sinai West – where a lack of protective equipment forced nurses to wear trash bags – saw him exposed to the disease that eventually took his life.
The heartbreaking text exchange between siblings shortly before Kelly's death. Photo / NBC
"I absolutely believe that he contracted this because of the lack of PPE in his unit and at his hospital — but that's across our nation," Sherron said to NBC, referring to personal protective equipment, which can include masks, gowns and gloves.
Kelly suffered from severe asthma but was otherwise healthy.
His sister is urging the public to recognise that health workers are placing themselves at risk to protect and treat the community, and warns that others will suffer the same fate as her brother if hospitals do not protect their staff.
"There's only going to be more," Sherron said.
"He's not the only one with asthma. He's not the only one with conditions who is going to work every day helping and fighting for people."
Sherron revealed to the New York Post that her brother's condition deteriorated rapidly.
Kious Jordan Kelly's sister, Marya Sherron. Photo / Facebook
"He told my parents that he was positive and had corona. Three days later he sent me a text message and shared that he was in the ICU and on a ventilator and he couldn't talk or he would choke so he was having trouble breathing. Six days later he died."
Mount Sinai released a statement following the nurse's death.
"We are deeply saddened by the passing of a beloved member of our nursing staff," the statement read.
"Today, we lost another hero — a compassionate colleague, friend and selfless caregiver.
"The safety of our staff and patients has never been of greater importance and we are taking every precaution possible to protect everyone."
Kelly's death came after photos emerged of hospital workers wearing rubbish bags due to the shortage of protective gear available to them.
This photo caused waves on social media, alerting the public to the shortages health workers were facing on the job. Photo / Facebook
Lucia Lee, the senior director of media for the Mount Sinai Health System, refuted claims that staff are working without appropriate gear.
"We always provide all our staff with the critically important PPE they need to safely do their job," she said.
"If an individual does not have their proper PPE, they do not go on the floor, period. Any suggestion otherwise is simply not accurate."
