LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Some people know exactly what they will eat or what they will do on their lunch break before they even finish with breakfast. 


What You Need To Know

  • Tony's mother is in Baptist Health's ICU with COVID-19

  • He threw a pizza party for the dayshift and night shift 

  • He raised $900 on GoFundMe to throw the parties

For nurses responding to the second wave of COVID-19, breaks can seem more of a luxury. 

One man named Tony started a fundraiser to give a group of nurses who are making a great impact in his life a cheesy thank you gift for their sacrifices. 

Glen Owens has been making pizzas at Bearno’s Pizza since he was 19 years old. 

He has perfected prepping pizzas for the oven in just one minute which came in handy when they received an order for more than a dozen large pizzas for delivery. 

“I've been doing this so long that it’s just kind of second nature,” said Owens. 

Within minutes, the special delivery was en route to its destination. The delivery driver met Amanda Eamer, a critical care nurse coordinator, at entrance A of Baptist Health to hand off the pizzas for her team. 

“Getting the opportunity to sit down, even if it's for a couple of minutes, and have some really good pizza is a blessing,” said Eamer. 

It was a blessing and a surprise.

Tony — for privacy reasons, Spectrum News 1 agreed with the hospital to only use his first name — organized the pizza party for the intensive care unit nurses at the hospital who have been working around the clock to care for patients.

Nurses were able to stop by on their breaks to enjoy pizza sponsored by the community. (Baptist Health/Tina Murphy)

“It means we might eat today, quite honestly. Hopefully, we always get to eat, but we don't always get a full break,” said Eamer. 

Eamer said the wave of COVID-19 has caused a strain on resources and patient loads and shifts are getting heavy.

“I feel like everybody is getting very tired. It has been challenging to try and care for these people. They are very very sick and sicker this time around than last time it seems,” said Eamer. 

One of those patients is Tony’s mom, who has been in critical condition battling COVID-19 for two weeks. 

Tony said the party is a small way to thank the nurses for the huge task of helping his mom stay alive.

Whoever comes into work after Owens will need to be just as quick because Tony raised almost $900 on GoFundMe to throw that party and another one for the overnight ICU nurses. 

“It was great having the support of the community, and our patients’ families in general really makes us feel great,” said Eamer. “The fact that people support us, and we know that they're still thinking of us means a lot.”

Eamer said she is looking forward to cooler weather with hopes that more people stay in and we won’t see another resurgence of cases.