BARBERTON, Ohio — An employee at the Summa Health System Barberton Campus captured an incredible moment on video as three priests stood outside of the facility and held a prayer for those on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic Friday afternoon.
Jennifer Sharp works in outpatient registration at the hospital and is one of the first people patients see when coming into the facility.
Sharp stepped outside to stretch her legs and check on her coworkers who were responding to patients coming through the doors of the hospitals.
The priests, who Sharp was told were from Saint Augustine Church, recited the Lord’s Prayer outside of the hospital while practicing social distancing.
“Yesterday and the day before we all got handed our PPE equipment so when we do go to work in these areas where we could possibly contract COVID-19. At that time one of my coworkers, it hit her really hard, and she just started crying,” Sharp said.
Friday’s visit from the priest was a message Sharp said she and her coworkers needed to hear.
“When you’re afraid and you think that there’s no hope, your God is bigger than anything that’s bigger than whatever is in front of your face,” Sharp said.
Sharp said she and her coworkers talked about the visit and that it brought a calming presence with it, providing them with positivity and an uplifting message during a trying time.
After hearing about the priests outside of the hospital, Summa Health System President Michael Hughes drove to the Barberton hospital to personally thank them for their actions, according to Sharp.
“This was definitely something that was needed. Those three men brought so much joy to the hospital,” Sharp said. “Our nurses and our doctors are really outstanding and everyone on the frontlines needed this kind of positivity.”
