Melrose/Wakefield Hospital Workers Honored With Street Co-Naming

MELROSE, MA — A Melrose street now has a second, shared name following a ceremony last week to honor area health care workers.

City officials, elected state leaders, local hospital personnel and members of the public alike gathered on Friday at Porter Street near Melrose Wakefield Hospital to officially co-name the street as “Healthcare Heroes Way.”

The measure aimed to honor health care workers “for their dedication to keeping the community healthy and safe during the COVID-19 pandemic,” as noted in a statement on social media from Melrose/Wakefield Healthcare.

Attendees on Friday included area elected leaders such as Melrose Mayor Paul Brodeur, State Rep. Kate Lipper-Garabedian and State Sen. Jason Lewis.

Officials addressed a large crowd of gathered guests, thanking health care workers for their service and sacrifice during the height of the pandemic.

“It really showed how important local health care is,” Brodeur said of the pandemic and the pandemic response.

“Thank you so much for your dedication to our city,” Lipper-Garabedian added.

Lipper-Garabedian recalled early days of the pandemic, where community members would gather to show their support for health care workers as they fought to save lives inside Melrose/Wakefield Hospital.

Legislative colleague Jason Lewis shared similar thanks, additionally discussing a recent experience where he himself had to rush to the hospital for emergency care.

He lauded hospital services while acknowledging increased demands placed on health care workers as COVID-19’s various waves have crested and crashed on the Melrose/Wakefield-area since 2020.

“During the pandemic, we just went to another whole level in terms of what we were asking you all to do,” he said.

Melrose/Wakefield Hospital President Kelly Corbi on Friday called the hospital’s dedication event “a special moment.”

“We are truly humbled by this honor,” she said, herself thanking hospital staff for their service to date.

A new Healthcare Heroes Way sign remains permanently on display on an existing road signpost on Porter Street/Healthcare Heroes Way in Melrose near the road’s intersection with Lebanon Street in Melrose.

Believed to be one of the first honors of this type created for health care workers, officials on Friday said they hoped to see the practice of co-naming streets with the “Healthcare Heroes Way” moniker expand regionally.