ABOVE: Tampa General Hospital Nurse Manager Suzie Dorner, photos via St Pete Pride.
TAMPA | Tampa General Hospital (TGH) Nurse Manager Suzanne “Suzie” Dorner served as an honorary captain at Raymond James Stadium during Super Bowl LV Feb. 7, memorializing lives lost to COVID-19 and showcasing her LGBTQ Pride.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 in the hometown game, a Super Bowl first in which they claimed their second franchise victory. Dorner was one of 7,500 vaccinated healthcare workers in attendance courtesy of the NFL.
The COVID ICU nurse manager was personally invited to participate by Rob Higgins, the executive director of the Tampa Sports Commission and head of the Tampa Bay Host Super Bowl Host Committee. He and Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Derrick Brooks surprised Dorner with the news last month.
“The beaming NFL Hall of Famer informed Dorner that she had been named by the National Football League as an honorary Super Bowl captain, along with two others – military veteran James Martin and educator Trimaine Davis – for their selfless commitment to helping others,” TGH shared Feb. 3.
“I still can’t believe it’s real,” Dorner shared with her employer. “I’m just one of 18 million health care workers in America. So it’s just an honor to be chosen as their representative.”
Ahead of the Super Bowl, TGH and the NFL released a video reflecting on “Suzie, her team, and healthcare workers around the globe who have been pushed to their limits this past year.” They noted Dorner would honor her fellow healthcare heroes and all who have lost their lives due to the coronavirus.
As it begins, Dorner reflects on her years of service at TGH. The Florida State University graduate is currently in her eighth year and was promoted to nurse manager of the Medical ICU in 2019 – just months before COVID-19 began spreading across the country.
“After we got our first patient that’s when we decided, ‘Okay. It’s going to be your medical ICU that we’re going to convert into the COVID ICU’ and that happened overnight,” Dorner says in the video. “I have a relatively young team and everyone was in a little bit of shock – it was really hard in that time. We lost a lot of lives.”
“Caring for these patients is emotionally, physically and mentally exhausting,” she continues. “We hit over 400,000 deaths due to COVID-19. It really changed the way we practice nursing and it put a lot more on our nurses – families can’t be at the bedside with the patients … it’s really the nurses that are there the most.”
The video also shows Dorner’s excitement as she learns she’ll serve as an honorary captain and participate in the coin toss. Watch below, via TGH:
TGH also shared a video of Dorner tossing the coin during the game. “That’s how you toss a coin! So proud of Suzie Dorner, Tampa General Hospital COVID ICU Nurse Manager, NFL Honorary Captain for #SBLV and 2nd ever female coin flipper in Super Bowl history,” the hospital wrote. “Suzie along with the 7,500 #HealthcareHeroes in attendance tonight are nothing short of amazing. Thank you.”
Watch:
“We have all endured so much this year,” Dorner noted ahead of the game. “When I step onto the field on Super Bowl Sunday I’m going to take a minute to recognize all the lives that we’ve lost to COVID-19 this year. It’s absolutely amazing that the NFL is taking the time to honor everything that we have been through.”
It was during the ceremony that Dorner’s Pride bracelet was on full display. It caught the attention of LGBTQ and ally sports enthusiasts in Tampa Bay and beyond, including Florida’s largest LGBTQ Pride celebration.
“Did anyone else spot the rainbow bracelet Suzie Dorner was wearing as she lead the coin toss at #SuperBowlLV tonight?” St Pete Pride shared via social media. “The Tampa General Hospital ICU Nurse Manager served as an honorary captain, representing 7,500 vaccinated healthcare workers in the stadium and 18 million healthcare workers across the United States. One of them was her girlfriend, Melanie who accompanied Suzie to tonight’s game. #RepresentationMatters”
Dorner told Watermark the addition of her rainbow bracelet was a game-time decision “because I knew this was a national platform.” She says she saw St Pete Pride’s post and all of the reactions after the Super Bowl and “knew I’d made the right decision.”
“Seeing the rainbow represented at the Super Bowl means an awful lot to so many of us,” she explains. “My girlfriend Melanie and I cried reading all the comments on the post. We are so proud to be a part of the LGBTQ community, and that is why I chose to wear the rainbow bracelet.”
For more information about St Pete Pride, visit StPetePride.com.
