Plastic surgeon donates spare equipment for Metro Detroit hospitals to fight coronavirus
Hospitals across the country are running out of medical supplies and equipment. A plastic surgeon, now with nobody to operate on because of the virus, is sharing her equipment with Metro Detroit hospitals.
Dr. Danielle Deluca-Pytell is a cosmetic surgeon in Troy. She's not seeing patients right now but she does see her fellow physicians in need of personal protection equipment as they screen and treat patients potentially infected with the coronavirus.
"These masks are fitted so that there's less gap at the side and these can be used by the frontline health care workers who are doing screening and not treating someone with COVID-19 - every little bit helps," Dr. Deluca-Pytell said.
She's seen the stories about shortages across the world and elsewhere in the U.S. She knows it's an issue in Michigan and is stepping up to chip in.
"These are the extra masks I ordered at the beginning of this crisis," she said. "I have colleagues that are running short on these masks just down the street so I'm collecting as many as I can to bring over to them so they can stay safe."
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She's emptying her supply closet and is encouraging other doctors to do the same.
"There are plenty of operating suites in offices that are currently empty with masks gowns gloves that could be used by somebody starting to run low," she said. "Even if you don't have a whole lot in your office, ten people that don't have a whole lot will equal a lot to somebody that really needs it."
She is also encouraging anyone with N-95 masks to donate them to healthcare professionals, the workers on the frontlines who have to stay healthy for their own families and for everyone else.
"Those shouldn't be in the community, those should be in the hands of our healthcare workers," Dr. Deluca-Pytell said "If our healthcare force starts to become affected, then who is going to take care of the rest of us?"
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This is serious. As the number of COVID-19 cases climbs, healthcare professionals have to make drastic choices.
"I know that people are being issued a single mask per shift - that's not usually how we do things in medicine so whatever supply we have is going to help the frontline healthcare workers much more," she said.
Beaumont hospital says it is in the process of working out details on what how and where donations are needed.