SIOUX CITY (KTIV) — Many Siouxlanders are stepping up to make homemade masks for first responders and other medical professionals to protect them while they treat patients who may have COVID-19.
Susan Unger, Vice President of Development for UnityPoint Health — St. Luke’s and President of the UnityPoint Health — St. Luke’s Foundation says the hospital is looking for homemade masks for a couple of reasons. Unger says, we want all of our non-direct patient care staff to be in masks and stay in masks.
Susan Unger: ” The purpose of those masks is to keep them from infecting anyone else, if they should be asymptomatic so that’s why the CDC is asking everyone in the community to put those masks on. The other reason is, we want our patients who are non-COVID patients, who are in the hospital, to protect them as well. With the way we’re seeing a surge in our community, we know we have a very strong need.”
Susan Unger: “The homemade masks can be reused. We suggest that you wash them after you wear them once, so if you wear it today, take it home and wash it tonight, either by hand or in your washing machine. But in order to keep it free of any bacteria, that’s the best way to do it and that’s what we ask our staff at St. Luke’s to do as well.
Susan Unger: “There are two different kinds of masks we need. One has an area where you can put a HEPA filter in it and some don’t. We prefer the ones with a HEPA filter in it because it’s a little higher level of infection control, but we are accepting all kinds of homemade masks right now.”
Susan Unger: “We need 6,000 masks and we’re giving our community until May Day to do that. We’re looking for 100 people, who will make 60 each and drop them off at St. Luke’s in our big May basket that we’ll have starting on Monday at the front. They are going to be a health care hero to help our health care heroes.”
