To our Cape Cod Healthcare Community,
To adequately respond to and end the COVID-19 outbreak in our area, it is imperative for us to come together as a strong, compassionate community. Finding ways that each and every one of us can help will ensure a successful outcome here on Cape Cod.
This disease outbreak is placing an unprecedented stress on Cape Cod Healthcare resources – both human and physical. We are only at the beginning of the testing and treatment efforts that will be needed to mount an appropriate response to this emergency. So, today, I am asking our community to help in a couple important ways.
To launch this much-needed initiative to bolster our available resources, I will not be taking a salary for the month of April. Additionally, as a gesture to encourage all of us to make a difference, our Board of Trustees will match my April salary in the way of a donation to the Cape Cod Healthcare Foundation. As we move forward, support of the CCHC Foundation General Fund has never been more important.
Contributions to the Foundation General Fund give us the flexibility to specifically address pressing needs moment by moment, whether they be supplies and equipment, employee assistance, facility and staff expansions, and supporting other healthcare initiatives on Cape Cod.
To do this, we will need tremendous support at a time when I know many of you are already experiencing stresses on your own resources. I am asking that you take a look at your situation and decide what, if anything, you can do to help. Donations are welcome to our General Fund in any amount and all are greatly appreciated. We have a professional team who, working with CCHC medical and business administrators, direct these funds to the areas most in need of support.
Another way you can help ensure that the medical providers on the frontline of this emergency remain as safe as possible is through the donation of essential medical supplies. Items in need, listed by priority, are:
- Isolation gowns
- Face shields
- Surgical masks
- Nitrile gloves
- 3M N95 masks: #s 1860, 1860S and 1870
- Disinfectant wipes
- No-touch or forehead thermometers
Many generous Cape Cod residents and others have offered to donate hand-sewn masks. To help ensure the safety of physicians, nurses and staff, unopened or sealed packages of medical-grade masks in all sizes are preferred. Hand-sewn masks will be accepted at donation locations. Masks should be boxed or sealed in plastic.
Donations can be made at the following locations: (Please see maps below.)
For location information, please visit https://www.capecodhealth.org/locations/
Many have already stepped up to help. Due to the outpouring of generosity from local residents, Cape Cod Healthcare is working with the Cape Cod Medical Reserve Corps to expand the medical supply donation program to include additional sites across Cape Cod.
To summarize, the two best ways you can help your local healthcare providers during this difficult time are:
Our mission at Cape Cod Healthcare is to deliver exceptional care to any patient who comes through our doors. We are truly our community’s safety net organization. Our patients are counting on us to be there through the difficult times ahead. At this pivotal moment in this healthcare crisis, I ask that you join us in making a difference for your loved ones, friends and fellow Cape Cod citizens. With your help, wherever and whenever possible, we will turn the tide of this outbreak.
Thank you, most deeply, for your support and generosity, and I wish you well in the days to come,
Michael K. Lauf
President and CEO, Cape Cod Healthcare
