Syracuse, N.Y. — Kaylee Hartley was preparing for her journey to Long Island Wednesday night, when a colleague came to her, took off her surgical cap and handed it over.

“She literally gave me the scrub cap off her head last night and told me I needed it more than her,” Hartley said.

Hartley is one of 22 nurses at Upstate University Hospital who volunteered to help fight an outbreak of the novel coronavirus on Long Island. They exited Syracuse Thursday morning in a triumphant caravan, cheered on by scores of their colleagues, supporters and fellow essential workers.

The downstate region has become the national epicenter for the virus. More than 5,200 people have died statewide, most of them in the New York City area. A surge in virus cases has overwhelmed hospitals, leading to a shortage of healthcare workers and resources. State and federal governments have mobilized to set up makeshift hospitals and import critical supplies.

That includes a shipment of nurses from Central New York.

Thursday morning around 8 a.m., Hartley and Emery House, a fellow nurse, piled into House’s white Mazda CX-3 to make the drive to Long Island. They’ll spend the next two weeks, at least, treating COVID-19 patients at at a makeshift hospital at SUNY Stony Brook.

The two nurses spoke with syracuse.com from the road Thursday morning, on the highway somewhere in Pennsylvania.

Nurses Kaylee Hartley, left, and Emery House, right, head to Long Island to help fight the coronavirus outbreak, Thursday, April 9, 2020.

As they left Syracuse, doctors, nurses and other staff at Upstate lined streets to wish them farewell. A police escort led them out of the city.

“The support was overwhelming,” House said.

They arrived in Long Island early Thursday afternoon, and gathered at a staging center at a local fire station. From there, they would get a brief orientation, then be set up in a hotel where they’ll live while they staff the hospital for the next two weeks.

Why would they go to the epicenter of a worldwide pandemic?

“Why not, I guess," House said. "We know that the nurses are in need down there. And we’re capable of helping. So why not? If the roles were reversed we would want the same assistance.”

Staff at Upstate University Hospital say farewell to a group of 22 nurses headed downstate to fight COVID-19, Thursday, April 9, 2020.

As they readied to leave Thursday morning, their colleagues stuffed the backseat of the car with supplies for downstate: everything from snacks and coloring books to boxes of precious N95 masks and gloves. Even as they drove off, people tossed things into the car.

“People were just throwing things in our car,” Hartley said.

Both have experience treating COVID patients at Upstate. And they see the downstate mission as an educational opportunity. They’ll bring back lessons and tips from their experience there.

“This is a mutually beneficial situation,” House said. “They need helping hands right now...we don’t have the volume they have, and I hope that we don’t, but if we do, we’ll be that much more prepared.”

Lots of people have thanked them, and lauded their courage. But they don’t think it’s necessary.

“Everybody keeps saying that, but we’re just doing our job," Hartley said.

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