FAQ

At #SavetheFrontline, we fundraise to procure the highest quality PPE & face coverings at the lowest cost. We work with our manufacturing partners to purchase protective wear in bulk, ensuring the lowest cost. We then distribute that PPE to healthcare workers and face coverings to underserved and at-risk communities in New York by leveraging data and our constant assessment of need through communication with our existing healthcare recipients.

We also accept donations of protective gear to distribute to healthcare workers and vulnerable residents.

Personal Protective Equipment is still needed now, and will be throughout this summer. While the number of new COVID-19 cases in New York is declining, there continues to be a severe shortage in personal protective equipment for healthcare workers across hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, nursing homes, EMT services and more. Our contacts in several hospitals across NY continue to describe shortages in their hospitals which require them to utilize their PPE for days, if not weeks.

On May 3rd, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a joint multi-state agreement to develop a regional supply chain for PPE and medical equipment to meet the mandated 90-day supply of PPE for each hospital. As our state builds out this chain, our efforts will continue to ensure that vulnerable communities and the healthcare centers that support them are secured.

Certain groups of New Yorkers are disproportionately affected by COVID-19. For example, Latinos represent 29% of New York City’s population but 34% of those killed by Covid-19 in the city; Black New Yorkers represent 22% of the city’s population, and 28% of Covid-19 fatalities in the city. New York’s most vulnerable communities can also be traced by income. In March 2020, New York State’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose from 3.7% to 4.5%, a statistic felt hardest in lower-income neighborhoods where individuals are less likely to have the ability to work remotely. Of those employed, many low-income, working-class New Yorkers work essential jobs that we all rely on today including transportation, food production/retail, and law enforcement. These workers and their families put themselves at elevated risk in order to serve our communities’ essential needs and to put food on their tables and a roof over their heads.

We target primarily public hospitals and institutions. Why? The PPE currently available is inequitably distributed. Hospitals with significant endowments, university affiliations, or other financial means are better able to close the gap than municipal hospitals that provide healthcare services to more vulnerable populations but have limited preexisting financial nets. This forces public healthcare staff to work with PPE equipment for days/weeks rather than the typically recommended duration of usage.

The amount of PPE equipment is difficult to gauge. Each hospital administration rations their PPE equipment differently and has different rates of COVID-19 patients. Each healthcare worker is provided PPE such as N95 respirators to use for a time period ranging from days to weeks.

The recommended duration of use of N95 respirator by a healthcare worker assigned to a COVID-19 cohort is for 4 hours.