MADISON (WKOW) -- Friday afternoon, Madison's hospitals saw a celebration of their efforts as the Madison Fire Department paraded by UW Health, UnityPoint Health Meriter and SSM Health.
According tothe fire department, it was about appreciating the hard work doctors, nurses, technicians and everyone at these hospitals put in over the past month and a half.
For health care workers like Veronica Scott-Fulton, the gesture spoke volumes.
"People don't understand those firefighters. they're just like caregivers they're just like health care workers," she said. "We see them as they're coming through the halls with their patients."
On Friday, the SSM regional chief nursing officer saw those familiar faces in a new context.
"It was just really beautiful," Scott-Fulton said. "We welcome them. We thank them. We support them but this was such a special time for us."
She said this gesture came as hospitals are seeing a glimmer of hope.
"We have seen a huge slow down of ICU visits, ED visits," she said. "We have seen the ER rates, the COVID positive rates go down to single digits."
Scott-Fulton said that's why she not only wants to thank firefighters, but everyone in the community.
"We were overwhelmed, we were tired so those gifts really uplifted our spirits," she said.
Though she said gestures like that aren't the only way the Madison community has pitched in.
"They stayed in their homes," she said. "They followed the rules and we never really saw a strong peak like some of the other cities so we were very, very appreciative."
Scott-Fulton said she and the rest of her fellow health care workers are optimistic the worst is over and are eager to get back to serving patients the way they normally would. She said they can only do that if everyone continues to take steps to keep themselves safe and healthy.
More at WKOW 27 News