The donation from Connecticut Biotech comes at a time when staff at Fair Haven Community Health Care said it’s not just a shortage of N95s, but it’s the price of the ones available that make the masks hard to stock.
“The challenge we’re now seeing is that the cost has really escalated,” said CEO Dr. Suzanne Lagarde. “We have to be very careful about allocating scarce dollars.”
The masks will be helpful because the organization offers COVID testing and vaccinations, and they’ve been doing dental work as part of their regular offerings.
“With aerosolized procedures, they use N95 masks every day. This is critical to continue to allow them to continue their work,” said Lagarde.
December 17, 2020
Kedous Mekbib, Third-year YSM MD student
NHP student leaders and medical advisors, Front, from left to right: Alexandra Mountford (YSN ’21), Kedous Mekbib (YSM ’22), Dr. Robin Whittemore (YSN), Kathy Doan (YSN ’21), Daniel Jacobs (YSM ’21), and Jessica Ainooson (YSPH ’22). Back, from left to right: Dr. Paul Genecin (YSM) and Dr. Jeffrey Bender (YSM).
From left to right: Evelyn Cortes (YSN ’21), Riana Nicolaysen (YSN ’23), and Stephanie Mora-Hernandez (YSN ’21)
When third-year Yale School of Medicine (YSM) student Kedous Mekbib tested a New Haven community member’s blood sugar while volunteering with the Neighborhood Health Project (NHP), he saw the levels were dangerously high. Mekbib also observed that the individual displayed symptoms of hyperglycemia. Mekbib and a faculty attending encouraged the individual to go to the emergency room, but the individual was hesitant because of concerns about the cost of an ambulance. Mekbib says NHP paid fo