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What you can do to help hospital workers

Want to help our hardworking hospital workers? Reach out to them individually to find out what their needs are. Don't drop food or other items off at the hospitals.

PORTLAND, Maine — Maine hospital workers are working around the clock caring for patients and potential recipients of COVID-19

While it may be tempting to try to support those hospital workers directly by bringing them food or other items, officials say it’s not a good idea.

Officials with Maine Medical Center say their hospital and other hospitals across the state are not set up or prepared to accept on-site donations.

Rather than donate items to the hospital directly, Chief Health Improvement Officer for MaineHealth Dr. Dora Mills recommends reaching out to healthcare professionals individually to see what their needs are. 

"We have a lot of people in our health facilities who are working a lot of overtime who are stretched thin," says Mills. "I think they would be just delighted to know their neighbors and friends and family are thinking of them and reaching out with the offer of doing errands, shopping, even maybe childcare."

If you don’t personally know anyone in the health care field, but still want to show your support, Dr. Mills says sending a kind word to the hospitals through social media is a great way to do that.

"If you’re on Facebook and you want to look up Maine Medical Center or other hospitals, feel free to send messages that way."

Above all, Dr. Mills says you can support healthcare workers by doing your part to "flatten the curve" of the COVID-19 spread. 

Take proper precautions by practicing social distancing and washing your hands routinely. 

"That’s going to help our healthcare workers more than anything right now because it will impact the surge and flatten the curve and protect our health care facilities so they can keep doing everything that needs to be done right now," says Dr. Mills. 

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At NEWS CENTER Maine, we're focusing our news coverage on the facts and not the fear around the illness. To see our full coverage, visit our coronavirus section, here: /coronavirus

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