COVID-19: Here are big and small ways local businesses, community members can help healthcare workers

Madeline Mitchell
Cincinnati Enquirer
Alicia Scheffer's daughter, Giuliana, sits outside their home in Loveland.

Our healthcare system is on the verge of being overwhelmed.

This message has been broadcast on both a national and local scale by government officials as the new coronavirus continues to infect individuals across the country. As of 6:45 p.m. Friday, there were 131 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Cincinnati region, a 315 percent increase since the initial local cases were reported on March 13.

While most of the region stays at home, healthcare professionals are working tirelessly to combat the new virus in a variety of ways.

“There are so many people that are integral in our day-to-day operations that we don’t give a lot of recognition to, and I think it’s important that we support them as well," said Dr. Whitney Whitis of TriHealth.

Nursing aids, respiratory therapists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, social workers, case managers, unit clerks, pharmacy technicians, pharmacists, dietitians, nutrition service workers and environmental service/housekeeping workers are all facing the same stresses and concerns as doctors and nurse practitioners, Whitis said.

Their concerns are real and valid no matter what role they have in the hospital, Whitis said. And everyone is trying to "continue business as normal."

But things are not normal. And hospital staff need to stay in good spirits in order to get their jobs done and serve the community, Whitis said. 

Here are some ways community members and local businesses can – and are – helping an overwhelmed healthcare system during the pandemic.

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Meals

Over-the-Rhine's Pleasantry has delivered more than 3,500 meals to hospital workers as of Thursday.

The meals are paid for by community members and prepared at the restaurant, according to Pleasantry co-founder Daniel Souder.

“We’re all told to stay home and to shelter in place. And these people have to go in and face this virus, risking their health, their lives," Souder said.

Pleasantry's program allows customers to buy a meal for a healthcare worker for $10 through their website. Customers are encouraged to leave notes for hospital staff at checkout.

"This way, you can provide these people with the sense that the whole city is behind them," Pleasantry stated with the initiative on Facebook

Pleasantry delivers three rounds of meals a day, totaling about 250 meals, to various hospitals across the region, Souder said. They have also partnered with Allez Bakery and hope to add another restaurant to the program if its success continues.

“It’s been a great thing, a really rewarding thing for us," Souder said.

The program not only helps healthcare workers, Souder said, but was a way to keep their small business afloat after Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine ordered restaurants go to a carry-out only model on March 15.

Whitis created a GoFundMe to raise meal funds for TriHealth employees. Within two days the campaign raised over $8,000. Zach Weprin of Fusian donated gift cards for the staff after learning about the campaign, Whitis said.

Another GoFundMe, "Maintaining our Frontlines-Cincinnati," is raising funds to feed healthcare workers at local Mercy hospitals.

"These nurses aren't going to stop taking care of patients to take care of themselves," said certified nurse practitioner and GoFundMe creator Alicia Scheffer.

Mask and equipment donations

Crafters across the region are being called upon to make masks for healthcare workers as personal protective equipment stocks dwindle. Several Facebook groups offer lessons for beginners and suggestions for experienced seamstresses looking to sew for the cause.

Mask donations are needed as personal protective equipment stocks dwindle in the Greater Cincinnati region.

Donate a mask-Cincinnati and Sew Masks 4 Cincy are among some of the groups encouraging the community to either sew new masks or donate old ones. Drop-off locations are update on those groups, too.

“As this progresses and gets worse, a majority of people are going to be at home, inside with their families and protected," said certified nurse midwife Megan Byrd, 31, of College Hill. "We are not going to be protected.”

Silk Road Textiles, a craft shop in College Hill, is offering do-it-yourself face mask kits for $15. The kit includes instructions and materials needed to make 15 masks. Place an order before noon Thursdays by calling 513-541-3700 or email silkroadcincy@gmail.com. Pick up is between 3 and 6 p.m. on Thursdays at 6106 Hamilton Ave. 

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Silk Road Textiles is selling do-it-yourself face mask kits for $15.

"Making masks is an amazing opportunity for our sewing tribe to support caregivers that are generously giving of their skills and talent while taking health risks. We are so thankful to be of service to the community," said Terry Owen, proprietor of Silk Road Textiles.

Clermont County health officials have openly asked the public for mask and other donations, claiming their supplies are "critically low." Hand sanitizer, disposable gowns, disinfectant wipes and sprays and vinyl gloves are of the other items needed.

UC Health has also asked the community for donated items. Those wishing to donate supplies can email donations@uchealth.com. Other ways to help the community, including donations to support COVID-19 research and the hospital's Health Crisis Response Fund, are outlined on UC Health's website.

Housing

Whitis and Scheffer's GoFundMe campaigns are flexible, they said. The funds will go to whatever needs must be met.

If the new coronavirus spread continues – and it will, according to Dr. Amy Acton, who at a Thursday press conference said, "there's no 'no surge' option" – healthcare workers will need to think about the risk of infecting their families with COVID-19.

"There needs to be places to house these people who still want to dedicate their time but also want to protect their families," Scheffer said.

Scheffer has reached out to local hotels and Airbnbs with no response. She said she is "begging for support at this point."

Byrd said she is thinking about renting out an apartment with her partners at Seven Hills Women's Health Centers in the next month.

"Because we know as this progresses we will be risks to our families," Byrd said. 

Rob Whitehouse, Vice President of Marketing and Communications for TriHealth, told The Enquirer Thursday that the hospital is in communication with local hotel chains.

Residence Inn in Rookwood is providing TriHealth workers with rooms for a "very reduced rate," Whitehouse said. 

Tracy Schwegmann, a spokesperson for Jeffrey R Anderson Real Estate, confirmed the partnership on Friday. Jeffrey R Anderson Real Estate owns the Rookwood Residence Inn property.

A "handful" of healthcare workers have already taken advantage of the deal, Schwegmann said.

"Since we happen to have the excess capacity and there's clearly a community need, we were certainly happy to make those rooms available to the medical community," she said.

Schwegmann said there are over 100 rooms at the hotel, some of which have multiple beds.

Whitehouse said there are multiple reasons why a hospital worker might want to avoid their homes during the pandemic.

“Either someone’s sick at home and they don’t want to contract it there, or they don’t want to take (the new coronavirus) home with them if they’re concerned because of where they work," Whitehouse said.

Acts of kindness

So, you can't sew. And you're out of cash. What else can you do to support healthcare workers on the frontlines of this pandemic?

“Honestly, any small thing really goes a long way, I can’t highlight that enough," Whitis said. "I think, you know, it can be overwhelming for someone that's not in healthcare to think, ‘What can I do to help?’ But even the most simple acts of kindness will go a long way with anyone in healthcare right now."

Check in on your friends working in hospitals, she said. Give words of encouragement. Write a letter of appreciation.

And, most importantly, keep it up.

Whitis expressed her main concern regarding all of these initiatives is that the community might exhaust their resources early on. It's important to keep acknowledgements of appreciation going throughout this process, she said.

“Any little thing, really, it goes a long way," Whitis said.