Brendon Ribas Gonçalves

Son of Transmontano immigrants is a nurse at Westchester, NY hospital

The Luso-descendant Brendon Ribas Gonçalves, 29, is a nurse at the Interventional Radiology Department, at  White Plains hospital, NY. The healthcare professional joined this unit of the Montefiore Health System 4 years ago, in a rotating nursing role. “During this time, I worked in almost every area of the hospital” – states Gonçalves, in the interview with the LUSO-AMERICANO newspaper.

Created in 1893,  White Plains Hospital – a 35-minute drive from Manhattan – offers medical assistance services and an oncology center. With 292 beds, its hallways receive more than 170 thousand patients annually.

Brendon was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, son of Transmontano immigrants. His father was from Chaves, and the mother from Montalegre e Padroso, in Montalegre. He went to high school in Seymour, CT, “about 20 minutes from Bridgeport, where I also played soccer.”, he said. Continuing his academic education, he joined Southern Connecticut State University, later transitioning to the St. Vincent’s College nursing program, in Bridgeport. Two years after his graduation, he found a nursing job at the same time that  he joined Sacred Heart University, in Fairfield, where he acquired his Bachelor of Science Degree. “After high school I was not really sure of what I would do. All I knew was that I was good in math and sciences,” he explains. “I chose nursing because of influence from my mother and my sister, who is also an intensive care nurse.”

During the peak of the COVID pandemic, “many of the ambulatory units in the hospital closed, and we were absorbed by internal departments as support staff,” says Gonçalves. “I worked in the Emergency Room many times, although I also stayed in radiology for procedures specific to people infected by COVID.”

The nurse recognizes that most healthcare professionals, given their daily routine of contact with illnesses and pathologies, “end up not fully comprehending the danger they face. When the peak of the pandemic transformed our hospital in COVID treatment areas, we realized the importance of our activities and the risks we faced.”

With the number of cases dramatically increasing in many regions of the country, including outbreaks in the state of New York, he makes a plea : “I think all of us should continue to take precautions, especially in public areas, specifically using masks and washing our hands. We must not, however, be afraid of going outside. More importantly, since we are entering flu season, if we have flu or COVID symptoms, we should not assume it’s only an allergy and continue socializing with others. If we have any symptoms, we must stay home and call our doctor.”