Ann Vega, a nurse manager at Adventist Health Castle, said responding to COVID-19 has definitely been a “roller coaster ride” — as it surely has been for other hospitals across the state coping with the highly communicable virus.

“Everything changes from day to day, and you just have to be really quick and ready to adapt,” she said.

At the Kailua hospital, drive-thru coronavirus testing, temperature checks at the entrance, a reduction in nonemergency procedures and a new era of masks, face shields, protective gowns and gloves have been the order of the day.

But Hawaii has “flattened the curve” with one of the lowest per-capita COVID-19 infection rates in the nation, and hospitals like Adventist Health are taking steps to return to some regular treatment.

>> PHOTOS: Hawaii military salutes front-line workers battling coronavirus with flyover

On Thursday the Hawaii Air National Guard and active-duty Air Force said thank you to health care workers and front-line responders with a four-plane flyover of 17 of the state’s larger hospitals and metropolitan areas.

About 35 Adventist Health employees were on the roof when a big C-17 Globemaster III winged over at 11:30 a.m. At least a half-dozen Honolulu police officers took in the flyby from the parking lot.

The cargo carrier was followed minutes later by a KC-135R refueler and two F-22 Raptor fighters — all Hawaii-based — as the health care workers waved at the passing aircraft.

Vega, one of those who spent a few minutes on the rooftop, said the flyover was an “amazing” gesture.

“The government is calling attention to what we’ve been doing,” she said. “They are saying, ‘Hey, you are doing a good job. You are going out there. You’re knocking it out of the park.’”

The “Operation American Resolve” flyover throughout the Hawaiian Islands was modeled after a similar mainland effort called “America Strong” featuring the Navy’s Blue Angels and Air Force Thunderbirds.

Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornets honored front-line COVID-19 responders and essential workers with formation flights over Detroit, Chicago and Indianapolis on Tuesday.

“America Strong is about showing how much we, as a nation, count on our front-line responders and that we have their back just like they have had ours,” Cmdr. Brian Kesselring, Blue Angels commander, said in a Navy release. “They have always been there for us all, holding our nation together — even more so during this pandemic.”

The Blue Angels and Thunderbirds typically fly more than 30 air shows each year. But this year both teams have been forced to cancel many performances as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Navy said. The precision flight teams are not expected in Hawaii.

At The Queen’s Medical Center-Punchbowl, several dozen employees as well as paramedics and dozens of Honolulu police officers watched the flyover from around campus.

“That was such an emotional experience. We’re so grateful that our team was recognized. We’re all in this together as a community,” said Mimi Harris, Queen’s Health Systems chief nursing officer.

Staff at Queen’s North Hawaii Community Hospital on the Big Island formed a heart on the ground as the planes flew over.

Adventist Health Castle President Kathryn Raethel said that at first with COVID-19, “we didn’t know what to expect, what’s coming,” but there’s been a “tremendous buy-in from the community and support.”

“I think (Thursday’s) flyover is just another indicator of that, that there’s tremendous appreciation for health care and what we do on a day-to-day basis,” Raethel said. “And we’re very humbled by it. We don’t take that for granted. We’re just so appreciative of the community and our military community for showing that appreciation.”

Raethel said the hospital has treated COVID-19 patients — “not a huge amount. We’ve have had some come into the hospital,” she said. “And they’ve done well, vast majority.”

There have been declines in nonemergency treatment “as people have decided to stay home, and we wanted them to do that,” she said. But in a sign of returning normalcy, that changed in the last week or so.

“I believe today it’s safe to come back if you need to get your mammography or a blood test or you need to see your doctor,” Raethel said. “There are measures in place to protect you. And so we’ve done a lot of work around that, keeping the hospital clean, screening people who are coming in to make sure they’re healthy.

She added that as the hospital reopens it will be careful it’s doing so safely, but for testing or surgery, “yes, we’re open.”