They’re still looking for gowns — and just about everything else.
The Mount Sinai hospital system, where nurses infamously resorted to wearing Hefty bags due to what they called a dangerous rationing of gowns — is launching an emergency fundraising appeal seeking donations to buy more ventilators, gowns and masks, The Post has learned.
Funds raised would also help the hospital system pay for experimental drug treatment to combat COVID-19.
A new link on Mount Sinai’s website allows donors to select a “gift amount” — $1,000 toward buying a ventilator, $500 toward anti-body tests to attack the coronavirus, $250 to buy a dinner for a department of 10, $100 for five protective gowns, $50 for three boxes of gloves, $25 for two face shields and goggles, $20 for one Uber ride home of a nurse and $10 to buy lunch for a health care worker.
“The Mount Sinai Health System is at the frontlines of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Our clinicians are caring for the ever-rising number of NYC patients and our researchers are developing tests and searching for a vaccine. We have the expertise and commitment to tackle this challenge,” the fundraising pitch said.
“The time is now and the need is urgent. NYC is the epicenter of the virus and Mount Sinai is the epicenter of NYC. Thank you for your partnership as we navigate these difficult times together,” the Mount Sinai appeal said.
A Post front-page expose on March 26 revealed that the nurses at Mount Sinai’s Midtown West hospital resorted to wearing trash bags because they were being asked to wear a single gown for an entire shift, rather than change gowns between patients.
They even linked the lack of protective gear to the COVID-19-related death of beloved nursing manager Kious Kelly. Mount Sinai officials denied both claims.
Nurses said last week they’ve been given more gowns following The Post report. Last Friday, nurses at Mount Sinai’s flagship hospital on the Upper East Side also held a press conference to complain of a shortage of personal protective gear.
Mount Sinai recently obtained five tons of medical supplies from China.
Mount Sinai also is one of 34 institutions nationwide participating in the National COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Project. The program seeks blood-plasma donations from recovered coronavirus patients that contain antibodies that can be used to fight the virus in seriously ill patients.
The Mount Sinai health system also includes the Beth Israel hospital in lower Manhattan as well as hospitals and clinics in Brooklyn and Queens.
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