Portland dentist donates medical gear to hospital
Click here for updates on this story
PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) — A stash of once mundane clinic supplies has now become a precious resource at City Dental, and Dr. Jason Bajuscak is more than happy to package up his stacks of medical gloves, masks and disinfectant to deliver to an ER doctor in great need.
“I started hearing more about the shortage of [personal protective equipment], especially in a hospital setting,” Bajuscak told FOX 12. “I know that it’s a critical level at a lot of places.”
Bajuscak had already made the decision to close his practice to cleanings and non-emergency procedures. He immediately knew he wanted to donate his supply of medical garb.
“For me it was an immediate call to action,” Bajuscak said.
His wife then posted about the supply on Facebook, said Bajuscak, and the response was quick.
“We found an ER physician that works with Kaiser, who told us they are in desperate need and more than happy to take anything we could spare,” Bajuscak said.
He was able to donate 2,400 masks and many boxes of gloves and disinfectant.
Shortly after City Dental dropped off the supply, Gov. Kate Brown announced that all medical clinics, facilities, hospitals and veterinarians would be ordered to cease non-emergency related procedures to preserve the dwindling supply of medical equipment.
The Oregon Nurses Association said the need is critical.
“Some [nurses] are reporting that they may have as little as 48 hours left on PPE supplies and then they’ll run out,” said spokesman Kevin Mealy. “There are already places where nurses are asked to reuse masks, reuse ventilators, to reuse equipment that hasn’t been sanitized between patients.”
“That’s a huge concern that if we can’t properly protect nurses and healthcare providers, then we’re going to spread the virus as opposed to stop it,” Mealy added.
If you are interested in donating unused, high-grade medical supplies such as masks, gloves and surgical gowns there are two places in the metro area where you can drop them off:
Multnomah County Health Department at 619 NW 6th Avenue
Portland Fire & Rescue warehouse at 1300 SE Gideon Street
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
