NYC Nurse Creates Handmade Blankets For Her Patients & Their Families With Love

When Nurse Ally Marcello sees a problem, she covers it with love. 

The Long Island Jewish Medical Center ICU nurse has recently begun an effort to make personalized blankets for her patients and their family members. She started making the blankets right before COVID-19 hit. What started as a simple act has grown to where Marcello is receiving donations of both time and money to help buoy the effort. And, in the midst of a pandemic, she is able to provide a small memory and keepsake to those who lost loved ones. 

The simple act of offering a handmade, personal blanket to a sick patient or their worried loved one creates a goodwill well beyond the labor it takes to stitch it together. As a result, Marcello has become an inspiration both in person at her hospital and online amongst fellow nurses. 

We caught up with Marcello to ask her about the origins of the blankets, what they’ve meant to her patients and how she might see her program grow.