Robert Giannasca
June 2021
Robert
Giannasca
,
RN
Chelsea Health Center
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston
,
MA
United States

 

 

 

Robert also has done some home visits for some of our most vulnerable patients who were socially isolated.
Robert is the HIV/HCV Nurse Case Manager for the MGH Chelsea HealthCare Center Adult Medicine Department. During the pandemic, he volunteered in the Respiratory Infection Clinic (RIC) to keep our patients safe! He came to the Respiratory Acute Care Clinic to see our patients as well. He has done countless work to keep himself and our patients safe.

Robert has completely managed all of the significant additional issues thrown at our HIV patients from a social standpoint – patients losing a lot of income, needing letters for housing, the huge burden of our HIV patients who have gotten COVID infected who needed clearance testing and had prolonged viral shedding, and he has guided them all through this pandemic.

He’s managed patients’ substance use disorders, kept people sane, and patients are constantly telling me how much Robert has done for them. He has had to navigate Azithromycin shortages when people thought Azithromycin could attenuate COVID and has had to deal with some pharmacy supply issues for antiretroviral medications (definitely the costliest and sometimes hard to get of our regular pharmacy medicines). He worked tirelessly to get people 90-day supplies of their antiretroviral medications and deliveries for people too immunocompromised to leave home during the height of the pandemic.

Robert also has done some home visits for some of our most vulnerable patients who were socially isolated. He has made MAJOR breakthroughs by just being present with some of our vulnerable non-suppressed patients who have needed extra support. He worked with our most vulnerable patients to ensure they had resources for food, rent, utility bills, and transportation throughout this past year.

He was able to obtain resources to offer Market Basket gift cards T-passes, Uber rides, and payment or partial payment on utility bills or rent. He is a tireless advocate for all of his patients and so deserves this wonderful award.