JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – You might have seen this on social media: It’s a video of Shannon Little, a nurse manager at UF Health Jacksonville, singing and playing the ukulele. Her colleague captured the moments and posted it to social media.
The song is a rendition of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” except Little’s song is called “Quarantine.”
The video of Little performing her version of the song amid the coronavirus pandemic has been seen nearly 1 million times.
“Quarantine, quarantine, quarantine, quarantine. Please keep your distance and wash your hands,” Little, who said she loves Dolly Parton, sings in the video. “Corona, we have to talk. You aren’t just a common cold. We don’t want to spread you around. No toilet paper on the shelf, people hoarding it for themselves, no hand sanitizer can be found. If you have to cough or sneeze, please do so on your sleeves -- keep those germs to yourself."
One of my favorite Managers trying to help boost our morale 😍😍 I so love you! #ItsTheLittleThings #SingingRNManager
Posted by Eshe U I-Nesbit on Thursday, 19 March 2020
The lyrics deliver a vital message during a tense time.
“I was in the nurse’s station, with my girls, and we are always taking time to cut up and play with them, to break tensions during the day. I know music, and it’s just the love of my life. And it’s one of the things I use to help settle my nerves when I get uptight," explained Little. “My mission as a nurse manager is to know my staff is there to take care of our patients, and it’s my job to take care of my staff. So if there’s anything for me to do to relieve stress -- whether it’s playing a song, telling a joke, rounding with some popcorn or candy -- anything I can do to make someone smile, that’s my mission as a leader.”
Little received the ukulele from her two children.
“I have only been playing for three months," she said.
And who knows more than a mother who is also a nurse?
“Keep your distance and wash your hands," Little sings in the video.
Little told News4Jax that the most rewarding part of this experience was gifting a ukulele to a patient of hers. She said a patient on her floor saw the video on social media and commented on the post, saying she herself played the ukulele. Little said the patient cried after receiving the gift and she sat as the patient played.