Concord, N.H. — Today, Rep. Annie Kuster (NH-02) announced that Noah Clay, a frontline health care worker, will join as her virtual guest for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday to highlight the unwavering work of Granite State health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Noah Clay is an Intensive Care Unit Registered Nurse at Cheshire Medical Center in Keene, a Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health affiliate, who has been caring for patients for more than three years while completing his Masters in Nursing Management from Colby-Sawyer College. Noah has provided care for patients throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

While COVID-19 safety protocols limit guests from watching President Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address in person, Rep. Kuster is inviting Noah Clay to join virtually to honor his commitment and that of his colleagues to the well-being of their communities and their tireless work to save lives during the pandemic.

“It’s impossible to overstate the essential role of our Granite State health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Rep. Kuster. “Throughout every surge and every variant, they have been on the frontlines, putting themselves in harm’s way to save lives and push back against this deadly virus. Our state and our country would not be where we are without them, and it is my honor to invite Noah Clay, an ICU nurse at Cheshire Medical Center, to be my virtual guest to the State of the Union this year. Noah and his fellow health care workers are the true heroes behind America’s progress, and I’m proud to uplift their stories.”

"Beginning my nursing career in the midst of a pandemic was something that I never could have anticipated,” said Noah Clay, an ICU nurse at Cheshire Medical Center. “The acuity of care, experiences I gained, and the death that I witnessed were things I expected to see over a long career in nursing, not within two years. Cheshire Medical Center has a strong sense of community, and the staff within the ICU are some of the best medical professionals I have had the opportunity to work with. I would not be the nurse I am today without the amazing support and guidance of our ICU staff."

A Keene native, Noah Clay is an ICU RN at Cheshire Medical Center. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Colby-Sawyer College in 2020 and completed his Masters in Nursing Management from Colby-Sawyer College in 2022. Noah is an early career RN who came directly into the ICU specialty in 2020. 

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