Ben Killey ’99 is volunteering as an ER doctor with COVID Care Force (CCF). CCF is an organization founded by combining the resources of “Docs Who Care”, a staffing agency serving rural hospitals in the Midwest, and “Heart to Heart International”, a global disaster response organization. CCF was designed to quickly mobilize a group of healthcare professionals to deploy to hotspots and areas of critical healthcare staffing shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After signing up on April 27, Dr. Killey flew to the Navajo Nation in Gallup, New Mexico 4 days later.

The Navajo Nation is the largest Indian reservation in the United States at about 25,000 square miles, approximately the size of West Virginia. There are 5 healthcare facilities within this region, with Gallup Indian Medical Center the largest and busiest. After New York and New Jersey, the highest coronavirus infection rate in the U.S. is the Navajo Nation. Because of the overwhelming number of patients coming to GIMC, many patients are flown to Albuquerque or Flagstaff once stabilized. On May 1, the day Dr. Killey arrived, the Governor of New Mexico placed the city of Gallup on lockdown with all roads into the city closed to non-residents.