Robin Schmidt retired from her job as a rehabilitation nurse in 2018, thinking she was done with patient care. She later took a job screening patients for clinical trials.
But the Naperville woman is now ready to return to the bedside, if need be, as the COVID-19 outbreak threatens to fill hospital beds across Illinois.
“I’ve been a nurse for over 40 years, and that’s what I do,” said Schmidt, 64. “I would like to help if possible.”
At least 180 retired nurses, doctors, physician assistants and respiratory care therapists have answered Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s call for retired health care workers to return to the workforce by applying to have their professional licenses temporarily restored. “We’re in the middle of a battle and we need reinforcements,” Pritzker said Saturday in announcing the request.
Picture Source: Robin Schmidt
