BOSTON, Massachusetts — 76 vaccinated health care workers, including four from Maine, traveled to Super Bowl LV in style.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft announced Tuesday that the team would fly the selected health care "superheroes" in the Patriots team plane to Tampa Bay for an all-expenses-paid trip, which includes:
- A ticket to the game
- A police escort from Gillette Stadium to Logan Airport
- An exclusive ticket to the NFL TikTok Tailgate concert headlined by Miley Cyrus
- A two-night complimentary hotel stay
- A Patriots gift bag
- A $100 VISA gift card to spend at Raymond James Stadium
- Ground transportation in Tampa
Cathy Bean, manager of clinical and community health services for Northern Light Home Care & Hospice, was among the group partaking in the well-deserved fun, as was Lisa Ireland -- a registered nurse at RiverRidge Center in Kennebunk.
Here are some photos Bean posted prior to departure:
Bean also posted photos of a letter personally addressed to her from the Krafts, as well as a swag bag that was waiting for her on the plane. The swag bag includes a Patriots winter hat, a Patriots mask, a Patriots ballcap, a copy of, "The Dynasty," by Jeff Benedict, hand sanitizer, and a poncho.
It appears the plane touched down in Tampa Bay around 1:45 p.m.
On Saturday, the Patriots posted photos to Twitter showing a new decal added to the plane to promote the COVID-19 vaccine, which reads, “When it’s your turn, take the shot. Get vaccinated.”
Here's some more info on the Maine health care workers selected for the trip:
- Cathy Bean, Manager of Clinical and Community Health Services Northern Light Home Care & Hospice: Cathy Bean, who was recently honored by the Home Care & Hospice Alliance of Maine with its Distinguished Service Award, has been on the frontlines, helping to take care of Maine’s most vulnerable and underserved. For more than a decade, she has been the leader in coordinating the influenza vaccination efforts in schools, businesses, homeless shelters and migrant communities. When the pandemic took hold, she used her experience to design and stand up COVID-19 testing sites and to develop a daily COVID screening process for those residing at multiple homeless shelters and quarantine locations. She is also putting that experience to use now developing COVID-19 vaccination sites. She also serves as the Chair of the Cumberland District Public Health Council where she is integral in fighting inequity to create equal access to health care across the county and state.
- Lisa Ireland, Registered Nurse at RiverRidge Center: Lisa Ireland is a registered nurse at RiverRidge Center where she has been on the frontlines throughout the pandemic. She often works every day of the week, across multiple shifts, performing hundreds of COVID-19 tests on other frontline staff and patients. She also serves as the infection prevention and control leader for RiverRidge.
- Patrick Keaney, Pulmonary Physician at Mid Coast Hospital: Dr. Patrick Keaney is a pulmonary physician at Mid Coast Hospital where he has been key to the organization’s COVID-19 preparation and response efforts. As the pandemic took hold, Dr. Keaney took on the dual role of caring for all COVID-19-positive patients at Mid Coast Hospital during the first several weeks of the pandemic while also serving tirelessly as one of the hospital’s sources of information about the disease. For six straight weeks without a break, he arrived each morning to care for ill patients, share the latest information on treatment options, and offer words of encouragement to those around him.
- Joe Looper, Emergency Department Nurse at Mercy Hospital: Joe Looper serves as a Certified Emergency Nurse at Mercy Hospital where he has been on the frontline during the COVID-19 pandemic, caring for Maine people. He has also obtained his Trauma Nurse certification and is a Basic Life Support instructor through the American Red Cross. In addition to caring for emergency room patients, he is also a member of the Maine National Guard, has been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, and has been awarded the Army Achievement Medal twice, the State Safety Award, Valorous Unit Award, Combat Medical Badge, Army Commendation Medal and Army Achievement Award.