Patriots Invite 8 'Healthcare Superheroes' To Super Bowl In Tampa
FOXBORO (CBS) – The New England Patriots have selected eight "healthcare superheroes" from Mass General Hospital to attend Super Bowl LV in Tampa, Florida.
It's a surreal opportunity for patient supervisor Godfrey Adamu and ER nurse Jairah Zinni, who were among those selected.
"I never win anything," Zinni said. "So I didn't think it was real."
"Good football, you know just have fun and watch the game that I love - cheer for my players. Tom Brady, Gronk," Adamu said. "It's a big deal!"
The NFL plans to have 22,000 fans at Raymond James Stadium for the game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs on February 7. Of that number, 7,500 will be healthcare workers that have received both doses of the vaccine for COVID-19.
"It's just incredible to actually win it through this way after everything that me and my colleagues went through," Zinni said.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft said the eight people, who were randomly selected, represent the work of all healthcare workers during the pandemic.
"I believe that many of the people in our healthcare industries are underappreciated," Kraft said. "They risk their well-being to ensure ours. It is what they do every day. During this pandemic, those healthcare workers have truly been superheroes."
The members of the Patriots healthcare team are:
- Godfrey Adamu – Overnight Shift Supervisor, Clinical Support Services
- Joshua Baugh, MD – Assistant Director of Clinical Operations/Physicians, Emergency Department
- Catherine Chittick, RN – Staff Nurse, Infusion Unit
- Michelle Diop, MD – Resident, Internal Medicine
- Jacqueline Garvey – Respiratory Therapist
- Lisa Martino – Manager Materials Management
- Tyrone Walker-White – Unit Service Associate, Clinical Support Services
- Jairah Zinni, RN – Staff Nurse, Emergency Department
The workers will take part in various Super Bowl festivities at Raymond James Stadium. The NFL said health and safety precautions will be in place.
