US Navy commends Greenwich Hospital doctor and nurse for treating sailor with Covid

Greenwich Hospital”™s Dr. Sandra Wainwright, the medical director of the Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Wound Healing, and Ellen Stacom, a registered nurse and hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) safety officer, received commendations from the U.S. Navy for treating a sailor with debilitating long-haul symptoms of Covid-19.

In a ceremony at the hospital, U.S. Navy recruiter John Meehan of Southbury presented the commendations signed by the U.S. Commanding Officer of the Naval Reserve Recruiting Command. Meehan underwent 60 HBOT sessions, each two-and-a-half hours long, five days a week.

Meehan contracted Covid-19 last November and later developed long-haul symptoms such as chest pain, muscle twitches, neurological impairments and vision problems.

“People say Covid-19 is over, but it”™s not truly over,” he said. “People are still suffering.”

Both Wainwright and Statcom come from military families ”“ Wainwright”™s father was wounded in the Vietnam War and retired as a lieutenant colonel and Statcom”™s father is a Navy veteran.

Photo: U.S. Navy recruiter John Meehan with Ellen Stacom (left) and Dr. Sandra Wainwright; photo courtesy of Greenwich Hospital.