As anesthesiologists, we are literally on the front line.
Dr. Michelle Kars and Dr. Emily Levin (pictured) are anesthesiologists in New York. During the COVID-19 crisis, the two women began connecting with other physicians on social media. It became apparent very quickly there was a dire need for supplies across the country, but especially in New York as the caseload grows rapidly.
When a COVID-19 positive patient is in respiratory failure, we intubate them (place the breathing tube) face to face, exposed to the aerosolized virus.
In hospitals nationwide masks ran out, physicians were getting sick, and they even described needing to use bleached bandanas and rags to wear in protection of themselves and their families. Dr. Kars and Levin quickly identified a need to bring the public together to help protect healthcare professionals in their New York area by asking for N95 mask donations on social media.
Dr. Kars and Dr. Levin are partnering with Dr. Lakesha Legree of Elev8MD Well Center in Charlotte, North Carolina who has created a nationwide donation platform "Mask a Hero".
Help bring awareness to our campaign
Tag your Instagram pictures with #MaskAHero. Find us on Instagram: @HelpMaskaHeroNY @HelpMaskaHero.
Email us
Write to businesses who may be able to help
Copy and paste this into an email:
I am an Anesthesiologist. We are literally on THE FRONT LINE. The Reality is: when a COVID+ patient is in respiratory failure- we intubate them (place the breathing tube) Face to Face, exposed to the aerosolized virus. The other reality is: We Do Not have enough N95 Masks. This is true for ALL of our healthcare mommas and families in this group taking care of patients in the hospital- ICU's, ER, offices, and first responders. There is a severe national shortage- It is Real. Your healthcare providers are putting themselves and their families on the line.
If you have N95's: please consider donating to healthcare professionals who are going into the hospital everyday to manage COVID patients while most are staying at home. If you don't know one, I will help you find them. #MaskAHero #donateN95Masks
Buy/sell
This site doesn't buy or sell equipment. Businesses interested in selling unused personal protective equipment (PPE) products to the state should contact: Simonida Subotic at covid19supplies@exec.ny.gov or 646-522-8477.
Businesses or individuals with proper equipment or personnel to produce PPE products (especially gowns, masks, gloves) should contact: Eric Gertler at covid19supplies@esd.ny.gov or 212-803-3100
Disclaimer
This site is being run by volunteers, trying to help during this crisis. We connect donators with recipients directly. It's each recipient's job to verify the quality and appropriateness of the equipment, and trustworthiness of the person donating. We cannot be responsible for quality checking any equipment, or verifying any information of people we connect. Please be careful and cautious and use this site at your own risk.
Media
For media inquiries, email Tara Levy.
For our media kit with logos, social assets, and more, click here.
Credits
Created by Dr. Michelle Kars, Dr. Emily Levin, Tara Levy as Marketing Consultant, Jenny Kane as Volunteer Chair, Matt Weinberg with website help, Michael Johnson with web design help, and Lauren O'Neill for logo and social media asset design. Thanks to Cloudflare for providing the site with free web hosting.
