Donors fill greatest need at Carle helping conserve high demand protective supplies and keeping workers patients and workers safe. Learn more about how you can help at carle.org/give. #Carleimpact #feelgoodfriday #chambanastrong #unitedandstrong
Shortly after Carle announced a confirmed COVID-19 patient in our service region on March 15, many individuals and businesses in the community stepped forward to help. Some made face masks while others donated food and shared words of encouragement.
To support other needs, Carle Health Center for Philanthropy encouraged monetary donations and announced that 100 percent of all gifts made to the Greatest Need at Carle would support our COVID-19 preparedness, containment and response efforts.
Since then, community members have donated more than $100,000 to help keep our patients and team members safe and healthy. “We’re incredibly grateful to those who have stepped in and supported us,” said James C. Leonard, MD, President and CEO, Carle Health.
While donations are still coming in, Carle leaders are identifying new needs and items to fund daily. Philanthropy is just getting started with funding.
“We’ve already purchased and received 20 baby monitors,” Dr. Leonard said. “Some may say, ‘what’s the big deal about baby monitors?’ If we can have a patient interaction or monitor a patient without necessarily entering the room, we can conserve the amount of personal protective equipment that gets used on any given day,” he said.
Philanthropy also purchased 25 percent of the new scrubs used to stock Scrub Central, a service located on the third floor of the North Clinic and designed to help keep Carle Foundation Hospital team members providing direct care from wearing contaminated clothes home.
“Thanks to donors, we have Scrub Central, which is amazing,” said Theresa Green, director of the Carle Experience. “We can change out of our scrubs before we even go home and protect our families.”
Donations are also being used to purchase hundreds of thermometers—200 regular thermometers to send home with staff so they can monitor themselves and 50 forehead thermometers to use at wellness check points for staff and visitors.
“Thermometers just aren’t common household items these days, so being able to give thermometers to our team members will be incredibly helpful,” said Beth Katsinas, vice president, Carle Health Center for Philanthropy. “But purchasing thermometers during a pandemic is not an easy feat.” Katsinas said an order was placed earlier this week and delivery is expected next week.
Katsinas said she is overwhelmed by the generosity of our community, and Green concurred. “At Carle we have an opportunity to serve our community in really meaningful ways during this time, so it’s easy to find gratitude in those moments where we know that we’re doing everything we can to keep the community safe,” Green said.