In a lot of ways, John and Adriene Hopkins were prepared to help get on the front lines and fight a pandemic like COVID-19.
The married couple of 5 years met in the emergency room at Hahnemann Hospital, where they both worked as healthcare workers. Since they married, Adriene, a Frankford native, had her second and third kid with John and decided to stay home to raise them. John, a Fox Chase native, launched CCS Healthcare, a medical organization with a focus on telehealth services that allow patients to receive care from their homes.
Amid a pandemic that has caused widespread shutdown, many health care providers are turning to telehealth services to protect and care for their patients, meaning CCS has been more vital than ever. And with a greater need for nurses on the front line, Adriene has stepped out of nursing retirement and renewed her license to help give care to patients.
With the world the way it currently is, both have stepped up to fulfill their roles during the pandemic.
“I saw there was a need for nurses and physicians and felt I could share my knowledge and help out,” Adriene said.
It was that simple for her to make the selfless decision to get back in the medical field in a time where most people are retreating to their homes. Her first born, 18 years old, has stepped up to babysit the couple’s 5- and 6-year-old kids at their Haddon Heights home while their parents work.
Adriene has been helping out at assisted living facilities, one of the most at-risk populations of the virus. She swabs residents in communities that have positive COVID-19 cases so more residents can get tested.
“She went back into the field at the drop of a hat,” John said.
CCS, co-developed by John in 2015, was intended to give an alternative method of care to elderly patients across the PA and NJ area who have health concerns, but don’t necessarily have to be in the ER. They provide care services and after-hours telehealth for patients in assisted living homes.
When the shutdown first started, John helped launch a hotline for patients to call when less information about the virus was known. Since then, he’s been working long hours seven days a week to help provide care, providing help for thousands of patients, he said.
“Our staff is navigating to the best of its ability to serve these people who are such an at-risk patient population,” he said.
John recalled an elderly patient in Hershey reaching out with concerns of the virus. She tested positive with the virus thanks to CCS, and they provided her with care in her home so she could avoid going to a hospital.
“The son reached out with gratitude and said they wouldn’t have known what to do if she was sent to the hospital and unable to see anyone,” John said.
The volume of work has been exhausting for both. When either of them come home from working with patients, they’ll be sure to pack up their clothing, wash their hands and do whatever they can to protect their family.
And then, after a long day’s work, they get to spend invaluable family time together. ••
