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Allyson Stought | Respiratory Care

#CStateChampions | Monday, June 15, 2020

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Allyson Stought went where she was most needed: To New York City, to the center of a pandemic.

Allyson Stought

 

Stought, who graduated in 2018 with an associate degree in Respiratory Care, went to New York City at the end of April to help operate ventilators for patients suffering from COVID-19. She was deployed to NewYork-Presbyterian / Weill Cornell Medical Center and hit the ground running.

"As respiratory therapists, we really are the front lines of this," Stought says. "We have our hands in anything cardio-pulmonary related. They are really relying on us to help treat this virus."

Her Columbus State training served her well. The hospital received several older-model ventilators, which require the operator to make manual calculations. The Respiratory Care program teaches students to use their critical reasoning skills to make life-or-death decisions for patients.

Stought says she couldn't have done it without support from her family, especially her five-year-old daughter. "She's proud of mommy. She thinks it's so cool, and I FaceTime her every night."

New York took care of her, too. She stayed in the Hilton, just a few blocks from Central Park, and had meals brought in. New York residents opened their windows and clapped every night when healthcare workers changed shifts.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The coronavirus is something we'll read about in the history books, and I can say I was there. It's something to be proud of," Stought says.