A doctor and nurse attend to a COVID patient during the height of the pandemic. (Photo: US Navy)
April 3, 2023
During the worst moments of the COVID-19 pandemic, Collier County’s healthcare heroes, its doctors, nurses, medical professionals, first responders and support staff, labored heroically to serve, save and treat those who suffered from the disease.
They worked under very difficult circumstances and at great risk to their own health and wellbeing.
Now that the worst of the crisis has receded and the pandemic seems to be over, Collier County, Florida should honor these heroes in a tangible way, with a monument that pays tribute to their efforts and remembers those who passed through no fault of their own.
It would be very fitting in a community with as robust and capable a medical and healthcare establishment as Collier County.
How many people died from COVID? Estimates of COVID deaths in Collier County during the course of the pandemic range from 551 to 1,175 people.
In Florida, an estimated 86,850 people died, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center. Some 1,125,366 people are estimated to have died in the United States, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The World Health Organization estimates that the global cost was 6,887,000 people worldwide.
These lost lives should not be forgotten or reduced to mere statistics. They were friends, neighbors, parents and children, brothers and sisters. A single death from COVID was one too many.
The temptation to move on and forget this painful episode in American history is very strong. But it should not be buried. A local memorial would inspire future efforts toward disease prevention, research, treatment and public health protection, both in Collier County and worldwide as well as provide comfort and closure to those who experienced loss.
Similar memorials have already gone up or are being planned.
The Collier County memorial should be placed on county land, in a prominent and accessible spot. An open competition could be held to determine its design, size, shape and inscription.
The Heroes of Healthcare memorial in Collier County could be supported by a partnership of the county and private donors.
It takes time to pull something like this together. There’s much to organize and many choices to be made. However, if there’s a will and determination to do it, approval of the concept and determination of the location and design could be completed by the end of the year.
A planned memorial to COVID victims in Long Beach, Calif. (Art: City of Long Beach)
Artist’s conception of a memorial to COVID victims in Baltimore, Md. (Art: Lake Roland Nature Council)
The planned memorial to COVID victims in Frederick County, Md. (Art: County)
The memorial to the victims of COVID in Olimpia, Brazil. (Photo: City of Olimpia)
Memorial to the victims of COVID in Union City, NJ. (Photo: Union City Police Dept.)
A draft resolution for such a memorial has been submitted to the Collier County Board of Commissioners. (The full text is below.) If you would like to urge the Board to consider it at its next meeting on April 11, the commissioners can be contacted at their email addresses or by phone, with individual, personalized messages.
Chair, District 1: Rick.LoCastro@colliercountyfl.gov — (239) 252-8601
District 2: Chris.Hall@colliercountyfl.gov — (239) 252-8602
District 3: Burt.Saunders@colliercountyfl.gov — (239) 252-8603
District 4: Dan.Kowal@colliercountyfl.gov — (239) 252-8604
District 5: Bill.McDaniel@colliercountyfl.gov — (239) 252-8605
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Draft resolution honoring Heroes of Healthcare and Remembering Victims of COVID-19
WHEREAS, the pandemic phase of COVID-19 is now widely regarded as being over, and
WHEREAS, over 86,000 Floridians and over 500 residents of Collier County died as a result of the disease, and
WHEREAS, Collier County’s doctors, nurses, healthcare professionals, first responders and support staff labored heroically under very difficult circumstances and at great risk to their own health and wellbeing to serve, protect and treat those who suffered from the disease, and
WHEREAS, their extraordinary efforts deserve praise, recognition and honor, and
WHEREAS, the victims of this disease should be respected and never forgotten, and
WHEREAS, recognition of these heroes of health and the toll of COVID-19 will inspire future efforts toward disease prevention, research, treatment and public health protection, both in Collier County and worldwide,
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Collier County, Florida, should establish on county property, in a prominent and accessible location to be determined, a fitting memorial honoring the Heroes of Health and remembering the victims of the COVID pandemic, of a design, size, type and material to be determined by open competition, with county support and private donations, the approval and determinations of said memorial, location and design to be completed no later than Dec. 31, 2023.
Liberty lives in light
© 2023 by David Silverberg