Students Make Cloth Face Coverings for Local Nursing Home

As part of Northeast Ohio Medical University’s student-led COVID-19 Relief Initiative, a group of students teamed up in June to make and donate no-sew cloth face coverings for a local nursing home in need of personal protective equipment.

NEOMED’s Association of Women Surgeons and Stop the Bleed chapters hosted the event and even sent cloth face covering kits to students away from campus who also wanted to lend a hand.

Several College of Medicine students who volunteered reflect here on their experiences.

 

“The Association of Women Surgeons and Stop the Bleed collaborated to make homemade, CDC-recommended, no-sew cloth masks. Our goal was to make as many masks as we could and distribute them to places in need around our community. We held a mask-making event on June 26 in the Village Courtyard and made over 150 masks, as well as mask-making kits, to ship and deliver to NEOMED students, so they can make masks and help contribute to this initiative in the convenience of their own home.”

— Anuradha Kanaparthi, a rising third-year College of Medicine student

 

“Due to the potential spread of the virus in nursing homes, our organizations created and donated no-sew masks to help decrease possible illnesses. These masks were made based on CDC guidelines and are described to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 when in close proximity to others, like in a nursing home. We are already in the process of making and donating around 500 masks, and we will continue to make more.”

— Taya El-Hayek, a rising second-year College of Medicine student

 

“The response was overwhelmingly positive. We obtained over a hundred yards of fabric and other materials from local craft stores and prepared 25 mask kits to deliver to students across Ohio. Students had the opportunity to make masks with detailed instructions and all the materials necessary at their doorstep. It is amazing to see our NEOMED community come together and make a difference during such difficult times.”

— Nupur Goel and Mark Sobnosky, rising second-year College of Medicine students

 

“The masks were donated to Dr. Markovich, a family medicine practitioner at Cleveland Clinic Akron General. The masks will be distributed at Concordia Nursing Home and to Dr. Markovich’s patients. At least 850 more masks are expected to be completed by the end of this initiative. We hope that these masks will benefit the patients and the community.”

— Maahi Mistry, a rising second-year College of Medicine student

Pictured in feature photo (L to R): Jonathan Seok, Justin Jickess, Natalie Menassa, Megha Gupta, Taya El-Hayek, Mark Sobnosky, Poojajeet Khaira, Anuradha Kanaparthi, Maahi Mistry, Nupur Goel

Pictured at table (L to R): Taya El-Hayek, Anuradha Kanaparthi, Poojajeet Khaira, Maahi Mistry, Natalie Menassa