CLEVELAND — Hospitals across the state are still in need of personal protective gear, including face masks, as doctors and nurses continue to put their lives on the line to save others in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
To help with the shortage, University Hospitals is continuing to lean on the community to help sew masks. Dr. Randy Jernejcic said the masks follow CDC guidelines and will not be used on COVID-19 patients.
“We are certainly not trying to side step any of the CDC recommendations because the health and well-being of our staff and are patients is, of course, number one but we also know that there’s a worldwide shortage of masks so our goal is to make sure that we gets these masks in the hands of folks for times when the CDC considers them to be very reasonable and appropriate to use,” Jernejcic said.
FOUNT, a leather store in Cleveland's Detroit Shoreway neighborhood answered the hospital’s call to help find volunteers to make the masks. The store handed out supplies on Saturday to anyone who registered online.
Co-founder Jackie Wachter said so far volunteers have committed to making 10 to 600 masks.
“The eagerness of all these sewers, it’s unbelievable how much people want to help,” Wachter said.
FOUNT will be raffling off free handbags to sewers. Proceeds from the $5 raffle tickets will benefit local charities. To register with FOUNT in effort to help University Hospitals with mask making, click here.
For more information on University Hospitals and the face masks, click here.
