KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Laurent Duvernay-Tardif has gone from the offensive line to the front line, using the medical degree he completed during offseasons with the Kansas City Chiefs to help patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Still dressed in his lab coat while taking a lunch break, the gregarious Duvernay-Tardif explained during a recent video interview that he contacted the health ministry in his native Canada early in the outbreak to see how he could help.
Duvernay-Tardif began by making public service announcements and getting out the word about social distancing – but he soon sprang into action when it became clear there would be a shortage of trained medical professionals.
“In times of crisis,” Duvernay-Tardif said while drinking from a carton of milk, “there are so many extra steps you need to take to protect yourself, but also the patients. We’re using visors and masks all day long, washing hands – so many precautionary measures just makes everything heavier in terms of risk, and that’s why they needed so many more people. There are a lot of health professionals that have gotten sick, but also just so much more work to do.”
The only active medical school graduate in the NFL earned his degree from McGill University. He still had hospital rotations and other work to finish when the Chiefs drafted him in 2014, which meant returning to his native Canada each offseason and putting in some long hours.