SUFFOLK, Va. - Portsmouth Sheriff Michael Moore and more than 20 personnel from the sheriff's office thanked Sentara Obici Hospital staff with a parade and demonstration after a sheriff's duty with coronavirus was discharged from the hospital.
More than a dozen police vehicles with lights and sirens on showed up to the hospital to thank the clinical team, and deputies gifted a "Thank you, Obici Hospital" banner to the hospital team. Deputies also brought a stack of pizzas for the staff.
"We want to thank you for giving such good care to our employee and our friend," Moore told a crowd of hospital employees in scrubs and masks outside the hospital's main entrance. "We're glad to see him recovering at home and we look forward to having him back."
The deputy was the first critically ill COVID-19 patient discharged from Sentara Obici Hospital, and was able to attend the ceremony along with his fellow officers. He wishes to remain anonymous other than being identified as a Portsmouth Sheriff's Deputy.
"This is a testament to our team," said hospital president Coleen Santa Ana. "The clinical team and all our support personnel were inspired by his spirit and his drive to survive to be with his family, and we'll never forget the look on his face when he was able to see his wife after so many weeks in the hospital."
