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THE GOOD NEWS: Nashville Nurses Pray Over Patients and Their Families from Hospital's Roof

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A group of nurses at one Nashville, TN medical center decided to ask God's help over their patients in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic from one unlikely place – the helipad located on the roof of the hospital.

Angela Gleaves, a nurse at Vanderbilt University Medical Center posted photos to her Facebook page on Monday showing herself and four colleagues praying while standing on the hospital's helipad located on the roof of the building. 

"When you have a few extra minutes at work you take the time to go to the Helipad and pray," Gleaves wrote. "We prayed over the staff in our unit as well as all of the hospital employees. We also prayed over the patients and their families during this trying time." 

"We also prayed for all of our colleagues around the world taking care of patients. It felt good to do this with some of my amazing co-workers. We could feel God's presence in the wind. Know that you are all covered in prayer," she concluded. 

Gleaves was joined by her fellow nurses Sarah Kremer, Beth Tiesler, Tanya Dixon and McKenzie Gibson in lifting up their arms and also kneeling during prayer. 

"We just wanted to share (the pictures) to let everyone know that we were praying not only for our hospital but all the patients and the families," Gleaves told NBC's TODAY. "It's just a really hard time for families as well as patients right now because a lot of hospitals aren't allowing visitors.

"It was a great moment. There was a little bit of wind, and I felt like it was God pushing us to care for these patients and do what we're trained to do," she said.

Gleaves has been a registered nurse for 22 years.  She has also served as a flight nurse. She contacted the flight communicator for the medical center and was allowed to go up on the helipad and pray for 10 minutes, she told TODAY.

"That was the first time we did that, and now people are like, 'Can we do this once a week?'" Gleaves said. "We've all been texting each other about different places we can pray with more of our employees. It's just hard because we don't always have the time to get away."

Several Facebook users commented on Gleaves' Facebook post which has been shared more than 650 times.

"God bless you, your friends, and all medical personal who are fighting for other people each and every day," wrote Laura Phillips.

"Praise God!!! You will all be blessed!! Thank you for your selfless service!" wrote Kim Fry Johnson. 

And another user, Stayci Munroe wrote, "This just gave me chills. Y'all are seriously amazing! God is there with you all." 

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About The Author

Steve Warren is a senior multimedia producer for CBN News. Warren has worked in the news departments of television stations and cable networks across the country. In addition, he also worked as a producer-director in television production and on-air promotion. A Civil War historian, he authored the book The Second Battle of Cabin Creek: Brilliant Victory. It was the companion book to the television documentary titled Last Raid at Cabin Creek currently streaming on Amazon Prime. He holds an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma and a B.A. in Communication from the University of