YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - It was a way to say thank you to the thousands of local healthcare workers on the frontlines battling the coronavirus.

Nurses and doctors at St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Youngstown, stepped outside onto the hospital's parking deck Monday morning for a moment to catch a glimpse of the 910th Airlift Wing C-130s that flew over head.

"That they would come to our area and do this, it's honoring," Dana Gates said, a registered nursing working in the hospital's COVID-19 unit.

The Air Force Reserve Command provided the flyover as a special salute to the brave men and women on the frontlines of a war underway inside local hospitals.

The C-130s took to the skies over Erie, Pennsylvania, Cleveland and Akron before rounding out the trip over St. Elizabeth's main and Boardman campuses and St. Joseph Medical Center in Warren.

Many waived, some even took pictures and video of the moment where they were appreciated for putting their lives on the line to help others.

"While we appreciate every thank you card, every prayer, every letter, every meal, to have the 910th Airlift Wing do this for us, when they stand ready to serve every day in this country, is extremely meaningful to all of us," Kathleen Harley said, president of St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Youngstown.

Harley says the coronavirus pandemic has taken a horrific toll on all of society, especially healthcare workers and the essential workers who show up to their jobs every day to fight the pandemic.

"We want our staff to stay protected, we want them to feel good, we want to keep them up to date with knowledge, because things have changed so fast," she said.

So far Mercy Health hospitals in Youngstown have not received doses of remdesivir, the drug fast tracked by the FDA to market, which is used to treat COVID-19 in severe cases.

Harley says she doesn't want people to be afraid to come to the hospital for other medical concerns. She says the hospital is taking the best measures to keep the facility safe and clean.

The Airlift Wing's C-130s were on a training mission Monday, so the flyovers will not come with any extra cost to taxpayers. 

A large American flag was lent to the group waiting on the St. Elizabeth parking deck by John Kufleitner with Columbiana Boardman Chrysler Jeep Dodge for the pilots and those onboard the C-130s to see as they flew over.