Mt. Pleasant Nurse Makes Masks for D&HHS
She is a hospice nurse and has been in her current role for eight years.
“The visiting restrictions necessary to decrease the spread of Covid-19 have been one of the biggest work changes for me,” she said. “Prior to the pandemic, family and friends could come and visit their loved ones at the Hospice House any time, day or night. Now that Covid-19 is community spread, we have to follow CDC recommendations and put limits on visitors in our facility. Limiting visitors at end of life is heartbreaking, but it’s necessary for the safety of those that we care for in our facility.”
In the midst of that sense of grief and loss, Bloomfield decided to respond with action.
She began making masks with a clear plastic panel for interpreters and anyone else impacted by hearing loss or deafness. Some of those now have ended up with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services for use with its interpreters.
Executive Director, Deb Atwood, said the donation accomplished two goals.
“We have scoured the internet and all of the masks with a clear plastic panel seem to be on back order,” she said, “so a donation like Sarah’s is really appreciated because the masks are important. But a donation like hers also lets us know, lets our interpreters know, lets our Deaf clients know that people are thinking about them and supporting them. And that’s really important right now too.”
Bloomfield said that she has a co-worker who deals with hearing loss.
“When we learned we all had to mask all of the time, this impacted her ability to understand others,” Bloomfield added. “She’s an excellent nurse, and I wanted her to be able to keep working and understand everyone in her work environment. Our supervisor ordered some of the surgical communicator masks, but we don’t know when they’ll arrive, so I started to make my own.”
Bloomfield has been sewing more traditional face masks for care facilities and the community since schools closed in March, and she said a sister and a sister-in-law in Indiana have both been sewing masks as well. They compare patterns and share tips, so when Bloomfield started sewing the masks with a clear plastic panel she had a pretty good idea of what she wanted to get accomplished.
“My first attempt was a bit off,” she said. “The window was too low. But I’m happy with my second attempt and subsequent masks.”
She is now making “as many as I can” for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services and encourages other DIYers to contribute as well, something Atwood said would be great.
“Right now,” she said, “we will take as many as we can get!”
