Mother, 2 daughters work as nurses at hospital on Long Island
ROSLYN, Long Island (WABC) -- One family on Long Island has nursing in their genes -- a mother and her two daughters are all nurses at the same hospital.
Novlet Davis, a cardiothoracic nurse practitioner at St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn, shares more in common with her two daughters than most mothers.
Davis's daughters Shekeya Washington and LaToya Bucknor are also nurses at the hospital.
"It's a blessing," said Washington. "I know that I'm very lucky to have my two family members working at the same hospital with me within arms-reach and just a phone call away."
Washington, 31, is a critical care nurse and Bucknor, 39, is a critical care nurse practitioner.
Davis began her career at St. Francis Hospital in 1995. Washington and Bucknor said they marveled at their mother when they were younger.
"I knew she worked very hard. She was helping people, and I thought she was like a super woman," Washington said.
Bucknor said she enjoyed watching her mother study with her nursing friends.
"So I was geared toward nursing since I was little," Bucknor said.
The three have spent their entire nursing careers at St. Francis Hospital, which means they worked together during the height of the coronavirus.
"There were many nights that I was worried, are they coming home? Are they going to be positive? Are they going to be in one of those beds?" Davis recalled.
Bucknor said she would get nervous seeing her younger sister get geared up to go into a COVID patient's room.
"My heart would be palpitating watching her," Bucknor said.
Washington said it was scary not to be able to rely on her mother and sister for help with COVID patients.
"I would usually go to my mom and my sister to ask them for advice, but they're in the same boat as me - we don't know what we're dealing with," Washington said.
The three women are not only saving lives on Long Island. Through Davis' foundation, the LJDR Davis Foundation, the three return to their native Jamaica every year to provide medical care to people.
Davis named the foundation after her four siblings who died in Jamaica ultimately from lack of access to health care.
Davis said in 2019 the foundation brought a team to Jamaica of 83 healthcare volunteers - many of them from St. Francis Hospital - and treated more than 1,500 patients in four days.
"Some of them, that's their wellness check. They come every year to see us. That's them seeing the doctor," Bucknor said.
Davis said the foundation did not do a trip in 2020 or 2021 because of the coronavirus. They hope to return in 2022.
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