McGraw helped make the day of the nursing staff in the COVID unit at Virtua Hospital on Thursday.
His appearance was arranged by Spotify as part of a new social series called "The Drop In," where artists pop in on the virtual gatherings of some of their biggest fans.
"I just wanted to, just to give, say thank you and what great work you guys are doing," McGraw said. "And most import for me, it's an inspiration to my daughters. Thank y'all for all of the great work you're doing."
"When Tim popped up it seemed like a beacon went off," said nursing director Anthony Flaherty. "They heard his voice and people started to come over and gather."
"No one could believe it, even getting word to other units people were like, no Tim McGraw didn't call," said assistant nurse manager AJ Papeika.
But yes, McGraw did call and it was just in time.
Back in May, the Burlington County hospital was maxed out with COVID patients,
"When you listen about COVID in the beginning, it was New York City, it was bigger hospitals, bigger facilities and it's happening in every community, in every county," Flaherty said. "It doesn't matter if it's big or small, it's still...it's still a fight."
Not only did McGraw pop in to say thank you, he also sang the group of nurses a song.
The serenade of his newly released son "I Call Mama" was the icing on the cake. But what meant the most was the 30-minute check in to make sure the nurses were OK.
"Not that it means any more coming from a celebrity, but someone who I always admired and been a huge fan of, it felt really good, I was just walking on air the rest of the day," said nurse Jessica Vitarell.
"Do not underestimate the impact of something as small as this is, it may be to him, but not to us, it is incredible," said nurse Lydia Leconey.
WATCH THE SERIES: EYEWITNESS TO A PANDEMIC (Episode 6 below)
Eyewitness to a Pandemic: Episode 6 - To the Streets
[Ads /]
MORE CORONAVIRUS COVID-19 COVERAGE
abc7NY Phase Tracker:
COVID-19 Help, Information. Stimulus and Business Updates
UPDATES
New York City
[Ads /]
New Jersey
Long Island
Westchester and Hudson Valley
Connecticut
7 On Your Side Investigates: Up to 4,000 coronavirus cases prevented by NYC contact tracers
Up to 4,000 COVID cases prevented by NYC contact tracers: officials
REOPENING INFORMATION
What's Open, What's Closed
[Ads /]
Reopening New York State
Reopening New Jersey
Reopening Connecticut
Total count of NYC, Long Island COVID-19 cases based on patient address