San Gabriel Valley community donates medical supplies to Huntington Hospital
PASADENA, Calif. (KABC) -- The San Gabriel Valley community rallied around a local hospital by working to help get crucial medical supplies and donations to those who need it most: doctors and nurses fighting on the front lines.
People with small packages of precious cargo donated whatever surplus they had as novel coronavirus cases continues to grow.
"I just dropped 20 N95 masks and a gallon of hand sanitizer," said Leanne Fessenden as she handed off her medical goods.
On the first day of Huntington Hospital's donation drive for personal protective equipment, or PPE, people are opening their cupboards and their hearts.
"Most of us have the ability to stay home and stay safe and our health care workers don't. So they need them more than we do," Fessenden said.
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The hospital is asking for all types of unused, unexpired masks, gowns, gloves and hand sanitizer.
"Everyone is in kind of a panic situation," said Preston Nanny, another donor. "Our family had enough masks and we thought we should give some back to the people on the front lines."
Huntington Hospital pulmonologist Dr. Asif Mahmood described the supply situation.
"We are running short on supplies, but I think management is handling it very well. Everywhere supplies are short and that is the case all over the state and all over the country," he said.
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Huntington Hospital is trying to get ahead of the curve, but the situation is still changing. And the needs and the asks will continue to change as this crisis goes on.
"On one patient a lot of supplies are used, we are trying to follow the CDC guidelines," Mahmood said.
Mahmood, who is also with the California Medical Association, says health care workers are doing their best to protect themselves and all patients. Last week, news of the death of a COVID-19 patient at the hospital was very emotional for employees.
"On that day everybody was sad. Everybody was fearful. Everybody was scared. Everyone was anticipating what was going to be happening in the next few days," he said.
The next step is to prepare for the worst and the community is pitching in. With so many people donating, the hospital is extending their donation hours from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for the rest of this week. The staff is collecting donations at a warehouse located at 766 South Fair Oaks in Pasadena.
If someone is not local or is unable to drop off medical supplies, an email can be sent to: purchasing@huntingtonhospital.com. They will provide you with a shipping label. And for more information you can contact helphuntington@huntingtonhospital.com or (626) 397-5448.
