Former Bronx doctor Jane Bedell planned to meet her son in Wyoming for a relaxing hiking trip after she retired last month.
Then the coronavirus pandemic struck, and Bedell scrapped her long-awaited vacation for one last tour of duty.
The 63-year-old former primary-care physician is one of scores of heroic medical professionals who are coming out of retirement to volunteer to help overrun hospitals in New York City — despite being in a vulnerable age demographic themselves — after Gov. Andrew Cuomo called on them to join the cause.
“If I was a newly minted doctor, this would actually be more scary,” Bedell said. “I have my own fears, too, but I’ve lived through more — I have a longer-term view.”
Along with being over age 60, Bedell is also a cancer survivor — making her doubly at risk for the virus, which has infected nearly 22,000 people in New York City.
But Bedell, who will head back to work as a doctor this week, said she got a bravery boost from years of treating sick people decades ago during the AIDS crisis
“Back then, people were afraid of anyone who had this mysterious illness — and many of the things about that time remind me of this [pandemic] today,” said Bedell, who worked at the North Central Bronx Hospital and Montefiore clinics in the ’80s and ’90s.
“In those early days, it was almost a plague feeling — frantic, like today,” she said. “I learned a lot about the importance of having courage and how critical it is to have good scientific information.”
Bedell, who signed up to help through the NYC Medical Reserve Corps, admitted that her family is nervous for her.
“I’ve got a couple of strikes against me in the risk category and my family is worried,” she said. “But I’m a lifelong New Yorker, and I love this city. I feel motivated to give back.”
Other doctors who are rushing into the line of fire after hanging up their stethoscopes include Judy Salerno of the Upper East Side, who retired from clinical practice five years ago.
Salerno, 68, who specializes in internal and geriatric medicine, will begin taking three 12-hour shifts at a yet-to-be-named hospital as soon as this weekend.
“Am I concerned? Yes. Am I afraid? No. Fear can be paralyzing — so I compartmentalize that,” she said.
“When there are more than 20,000 infected people in my city, there is no question that I need to help — I didn’t hesitate.”
She plans to take precautions to avoid possibly infecting her family.
“When I come home in the evenings, I’ll leave my clothes at the door to keep my family safe,” said Salerno, who has worked at clinics in Washington, DC, and treated patients during the Hurricane Katrina disaster of 2005.
Heroic retired medical professionals are also volunteering to treat sick people at crowded hospitals in other parts of the country.
Clifford Zwillich, a 78-year-old former pulmonary and critical-care doctor, plans to treat patients at hospitals at the Aspen, Colo., area.
“It’s my responsibility,” said Zwillich, who retired three years ago. “I’m no more heroic than anyone else; I just have the skills to help.”
Mary Steiner — a 61-year-old nurse with a background in emergency preparedness from Chapman, Neb.— retired last year.
She had been spending leisurely days with her grandchildren until the coronavirus outbreak hit the US — and then volunteered to go back to work.
“I knew that there would be a huge need,” Steiner said. “I just knew it was something I needed to do.”