Mother’s Day is meant to celebrate moms, but for many women working essential jobs, it is also just another day on the clock.

One of those mothers is Carol Drago, an endoscopy nurse at Northwell Plainview Hospital.

While many families are spending the holiday together, Drago is spending her Sunday preparing for patients. Her day includes getting the endoscopy room ready and calling Monday’s patients to guide them through their upcoming procedures ahead of time.

After 41 years as a nurse, Drago says working on Mother’s Day is not always easy. Still, she says caring for patients feels like an extension of being a mom.

“Working Mother’s Day can be hard, but it is rewarding too because you’re their mom while there are patients here in the hospital,” Drago said. “It’s a give and take, but it’s always good.”

Drago is also the mother of two sons, one who works in human resources for Northwell Health and another who works as an emergency room doctor at a different hospital.

Both say it was their mother’s dedication to helping others that inspired their own career paths.