Final Goodbyes Via FaceTime: Coronavirus At Clara Maass Hospital

BELLEVILLE, NJ — Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville is using apps such as FaceTime and Google Duo to help the families of dying coronavirus patients connect with their loved ones, reports say.

Joe Wojtecki, assistant director of patient experience at the hospital, recently spoke with CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield about the heartbreaking-but-necessary duty. Watch the video here.

In the name of safety, RWJBarnabas Health has clamped down on visitation at its hospitals during the COVID-19 crisis, including at Clara Maass. Although some exceptions are being made, many families – especially those with a loved one diagnosed with the new coronavirus – have been forced to substitute virtual goodbyes for the real thing.

Wojtecki told CNN that he started working at Clara Maass about five years ago. When the coronavirus broke out in New Jersey, he took on a new task: helping families make virtual visits.

“I’m there as a vessel to connect with those loved ones,” Wojtecki said. “To be in that room, sometimes touching the patient for the family, it’s emotional.”

There are “trying days,” Wojtecki said. But part of what helps him get through them is his own family, including his three boys.

Earlier this month, Wojtecki helped his colleague, Francis Molinari, speak to his family before the 70-year-old physician passed away, NJ.com reported.

“I can’t imagine having a loved one in the hospital and not be able to hug them and say goodbye,” he told NJ.com.

READ MORE: NJ Coronavirus Updates (Here's What You Need To Know)

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