NORTHAMPTON, Mass. — While the ongoing pandemic has taken a toll on Kentucky, several areas across the country have been hit especially hard by the coronavirus. Knowing she needed to help wherever she could, Ashley Wade immediately picked up and helped patients in need.
"By the end of march, I just could not stay put anymore," Wade said. "I had to go where I could help."
The certified nursing assistant and ER tech worked for an agency that had her working in facilities all over Louisville, but when numbers began skyrocketing in other cities, she found a way to help.
"I started making phone calls and within 24 hours I was in Chicago," Wade said.
Now, she's working in Northampton, Massachusetts. She said all of her patients have tested positive for the coronavirus.
"The facilities have been so ravaged that they just can't staff them anymore," Wade said. "They're shipping people from thousands of miles away to staff their facilities here."
What Wade has found amazing is all of the small acts of kindness she's received. Most recently, a cashier told her to grab a free soda on them, thanking her for coming all the way from the Bluegrass.
"And I just blurted out, 'Well I appreciate ya'll having me,'" Wade said. "Just out here trying to make Governor Beshear proud."
Wade said she'll go wherever help is needed most. With the recent resident evacuations at a Louisville nursing home, Wade said she may come back to Kentucky sooner than expected.
For now, though, she said she's showing people in the northeast some southern hospitality.
"Showing the Northeast corridor what we're about in Kentucky," Wade said. "We're about helping and sticking together and doing the right thing."
►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.