TAMPA, Fla. – AdventHealth Tampa team members were among the health care workers chosen by the NFL to get tickets to Super Bowl LV as a thank you for their efforts during the pandemic.
What You Need To Know
- Nicholle Henning, a nurse with AdventHealth Tampa, among those chosen to attend SBLV
- NFL previously announced it would invite 7,500 vaccinated health care workers to the game
- Henning says she's grateful to NFL, thanked community for support to health care workers throughout pandemic
"I'm going to the Super Bowl!" Nicholle Henning exclaims in a cell phone video shot moments after she learned she'd been selected Monday.
Henning is the director of nursing at AdventHealth Tampa. She said some of her units were converted to COVID units early last year.
“There’s been a lot of highs this year, a lot of lows. It’s a reminder of why we went into health care to begin with," Henning said.
The NFL announced earlier this month it would give tickets to about 7,500 vaccinated health care workers as a token of appreciation. Henning, who said she's a "huge" fan of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, signed up for the lottery.
“Saw the notification that I had been selected. So, immediately started screaming, crying," Henning said of the moment she found out she was going to the big game at Raymond James Stadium.
Henning said her reaction drew some unexpected attention.
“There was a Pasco County Sheriff’s Deputy next to us at the stop light, so he rolled his window down and he said to my husband, ‘Is everything okay in that vehicle?’ And my husband said, ‘Yes, my wife is a nurse and found out she’s going to the Super Bowl.’ So, then he started screaming and yelling," Henning said. “Super excited it’s in Tampa Bay. Have never been to a Super Bowl, obviously. This is like the chance of a lifetime.”
While she's hoping for a Bucs win, Henning said she's most excited about getting to see the team face off against the Kansas City Chiefs alongside her fellow health care workers.
“One thing I did tell the nurses and the staff throughout the whole pandemic, when they would clock in and come to work, I would always tell them, ‘Thank you for choosing to make history today. You are making history by taking care of these COVID patients,'" Henning said. "So, it’s very fitting and almost comes full circle that we’re making history in the Tampa Bay area, having our hometown team a part of the Super Bowl, to then be part of that history, as well."
According to the NFL, the majority of the health care workers chosen to attend the Super Bowl on Feb. 7 will be from hospitals and health care systems in Tampa and Central Florida.