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Grace Home Health nurses rounding up masks for patients

Over 50 masks collected in 24 hours
Posted at 7:17 PM, Mar 24, 2020
and last updated 2020-03-25 06:55:41-04

Nurses at Grace Home Health work with high-risk patients on a daily basis. The staff has noticed the affect of the coronavirus scare taking a toll on some of its patients.

“Mostly being away from their family has been very difficult and I think the extra barrier that we can provide with the face will help them when family members do come to give them groceries or medication," said field nurse, Lacy Bernard.

Some staff members wanting to create comfort, posted on social media about collecting and delivering masks to the patients who need it most. From there, the community started to get involved.

"Within about two hours, I had over 123 people commenting saying they would love to help out. By the end of the day I had 56 masks," said Bernard.

The collections have only been going on for a few days, however some of the masks already made it into patient's hands, and they are thrilled.

“It’s a sense of relief. They put it on immediately. It’s immediate gratitude, appreciation and throughout the visit they’re thanking me," said Bernard.

To make the gesture even better, the staff says so many people have created the most unique designs.

“We’re getting creative with the patterns we’re using, for our LSU fans, our Saint's fans, and we’ve even realized there’s now a shortage of elastic in Lafayette. So, we came up with the idea to use ponytails holders," said Human resource manager, Annie Lang.

The end goal is to reach 300 masks in total. If you’re interested in donating any masks for the cause, you can send a message to Grace Home Health on their Facebook page.