Health care workers at Methodist Mansfield Medical Center got a big morale boost over the weekend.
Several nurses at the hospital sent NBC 5 video from Saturday night as vehicles honked horns and flashed lights in the parking lot.
Organizer Cindy Cantero said it was to support "our heath care heroes." Cantero said she saw firsthand how hard staff was working when she went to the emergency room herself last week.
"The stress of this new norm, having to work, running home and making sure my four school aged kids are doing their online work, and finding ways to keep them engaged and entertained had taken a toll on me and I passed out," she wrote.
She said she saw a staff "covered from head to toe in protective gear," yet still pleasant, attentive and caring. When Cantero got out of the hopsital, she wanted to show the ER team how appreciative she was of the way they cared for her. So she organized the parking lot pep rally.
Cantero said the group will do it again this week -- and she has other ideas too.
"We plan on doing birthday parades as well as drive-bys for senior living facilities to lift up spirits in our town," she wrote in an email.
And for nurses on duty Saturday night, like Kimberley Burleson, the plan worked.
"It was so touching to see the community come together and show their support. It brought every one of us to tears," Burleson said. "I think more people need to do this at all hospitals. You have no idea how much it means. One nurse said she was feeling a little down and this was 'uplifting'. I think we all feel that way."
