Community Medical Foundation CEO Pleads for Mask Donations

The plea from Community Medical Foundation CEO Katie Zenovich is pretty clear. Community Medical Centers need N95 masks, and they need them now.
“We’re feeling it. And we’re hoping that everyone helps us step up to help the care providers protect everyone because we need to protect everyone who comes to us in need, physicians and nurses are the first ones at the front line, and they need masks and we are burning through anywhere from 4,000 to 5,000 masks a day,” Zenovich said Monday.

Zenovich is holding out hope people will step up to a new challenge. The CDC just made a rule change that allows people to make a difference right from their own sewing machines.
“Now we can take them and that we wanted to get out to the public because this is very important,” Zenovich said.

Related Story: Fresno County Receives N95 Masks but Still Needs Your Help

How to Make Masks at Home

“There’s no limit on how many we need. And now that the CDC has approved these fabric home-sewn masks, they need to be made out of 100% cotton, a tight weave. And they need to have like an eighth of an inch elastic, if they’re going to sew them on or to go behind the ear, or they can have hand-sewn fabric ties. That’s how we have a pattern actually that we’ll put up on the website,” Zenovich said.

Large Donation of Gloves

Robb Pendergrass drove up in a large box truck Monday and dropped off about 70,000 pairs of gloves.
“So these are a bunch of nitrile gloves that we’ve had in our warehouse,” Pendergrass said. “We typically sell them for application with automotive paint so usually people are wearing them to paint cars. Today,  people are gonna wear them to stay safe in the hospital.”

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Many Other Items Needed

Community Medical Centers is hunting for other items: safety eyewear and face shields, non-latex gloves, hand sanitizer, and cleaning supplies. A list is provided on the hospital’s Facebook page, which also explains how to donate. The drop-off location is at the North Medical Plaza, 215 N. Fresno St.

Related Story: Volunteers Sew Masks for Health Workers Facing Shortages