Sports

Springfield’s Peck aids in NYC COVID relief

By Adam Aucoin
Staff Writer
Springfield’s Pete Peck joined the Army Reserves five years ago as a professional challenge, wanting to give back to his country.

This year presented him with quite the opportunity to do so.

The COVID-19 virus hit American shores in January, and by March, the virus was considered a pandemic, hammering the U.S. the hardest.

No place was hit harder than New York City. The bustling metropolis is home to more than eight million people, a perfect breeding pot for a virus that the U.S. was ill-prepared to deal with.

In times of crisis, we often turn to the best of us to be our heroes. Major Peck was one of those heroes.

Peck is part of the 804th Medical Brigade based out of Fort Devens military base in Massachusetts. He is also a pharmacist with the Army Medical Corps and Director of Pharmacy at Springfield Hospital.

Peck was called upon to serve his country in this most important time. An Urban Augmentation Medical Task Force (UAMTF), an entirely new type of unit, was put together to aid at field medical sites across the country.

The Army Reserve’s COVID-19 response represented the largest domestic mobilization of Army Reserve forces in history.

Each UAMTF consisted of 85 critical medical specialty personnel including operational medicine, infectious disease, preventive medicine, nursing, respiratory therapist, clinical psychologist, occupational therapist, dietician, pharmacist, and other medical subject matter experts, as well as clinical and administrative staff.

Peck was part of that effort and was deployed to Manhattan to help in COVID efforts.

Peck was first sent to Javits Center in Manhattan, and shortly after that, to Queens Hospital. He worked alongside four other pharmacists.

The turnaround was quick after he was notified of his deployment. He had just 48 hours to report to his military base.

“It was a quick goodbye with family,” Peck said. “You’re heading into the unknown, not knowing how long it will last.”

Peck has two kids and a wife at home, so the adjustment period had to be quick for his other half.

“If I had, for example, been deployed to Afghanistan, our parents and other community members could have helped support her, but not in the situation the country is in,” Peck said.

“My wife had to fully face the brunt of this in a time when everything in the world is going haywire. She was an Air Force brat, so she understands, but it’s not easy.”

Peck was responsible for compounding thousands of life saving IV medications at Queen’s Hospital. Due to marketplace shortages from the pandemic, many commercial preparations were unavailable. It was necessary to create from various individual components the required formulations.

A pharmacist would normally be expected to compound 15-20 IV formulations in a shift. During this mission, Peck compounded up to 200 per day, averaging 75 per shift.

With his support, lifesaving medications were delivered to hundreds of patients, contributing directly to their defeat of the disease.

Major Peck used his expertise to verify prescription orders in a time where the volume had tripled. He compounded oral formulations for NICU patients, delivered controlled medications to the emergency department, was responsible for general inventory management, handled Code Cart restocking and verification, while providing leadership to civilian and army pharmacy technicians.

A part of the city was cornered off for military personnel. It was quite the different experience of ‘The City That Never Sleeps’ for Peck, who had only been to the city as a tourist in the past.

“It was a ghost town. Nothing was happening,” Peck said. “There was a time I was standing in Times Square and I was the only person there. New York City was a brew pot for the virus.”

Peck is also the Springfield High varsity girls basketball coach. His Cosmos made it to the Division II quarterfinals last year, falling to eventual co-champion Fair Haven.

That group was led by Hailey Perham and Gabby Wardwell, as part of a team with seven seniors.

“It’s going to be a different group this year,” Peck said. “But it’s a young and hungry group.”

Peck is hoping his girls get the chance to play. Winter sports practices are still on pause and there’s uncertainty if the Jan. 11 start date will come to fruition.

“The (Vermont Principals’ Association) has worked hard to make the model as good as it can be,” Peck said. “We’re trying to work to stay positive.”

The possibility of a pod-based, regionalized schedule has been thrown around across the state.

“It could be a nice treat to play those local schools. It could renew some rivalries,” Peck said.

Whether he’s working to save lives or aiding in the development of the Springfield girls he coaches, Peck is ready to tackle every challenge in front of him.

His time helping in New York City was one of those challenges he won’t soon forget.

“All that matters to me is that I was able to help,” Peck said.

Follow on Twitter: @AAucoin_RH

adam.aucoin @rutlandherald.com

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