When people call the Killingworth Ambulance Association they need help, often for medical emergencies. But that’s not what happened when Heidi Giaccone contacted an EMT this week. Instead of asking for assistance, she offered it.
Unusual? Keep reading.
A Killingworth resident the past 16 years, Giaccone was poking around the basement of her home one day when she found 10 R95 respirator masks sitting on a shelf in unopened boxes. Her husband had purchased them once for a Habitat for Humanity project in Connecticut, and while Giaccone knew that neither she nor her family of four would use them she knew of someone who could.
So she reached out to the Ambulance Association.
“The basement is really my husband’s domain,” said Giaccone, who works as a senior recruiter for Medtronic. “I happened to be looking for something, but masks have been on my mind. I didn’t know if they were the right kind of medical grade or not, but I was happy to share.”
Turns out they were the right kind. In fact, there is little difference between the R95 and N95 respirators, with both filtering 95 percent of airborne particles. While the N95 mask is more familiar with care-givers treating COVID-19 patients, both are approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
“I’m glad,” said Giaccone. “I just wish we had more.”
So do first responders and hospitals nationwide. There’s an acute shortage of respirators to deal with a surge of confirmed COVID-19 patients, and donations are more than welcome; they’re desperately needed. With cases this week exceeding 1,000 in Connecticut, including three in Killingworth as of Saturday, Giaccone said she knew whom to contact when she found protective masks.
“My Mom lived here for awhile at Jensen’s,” she said, “and we had to use the service of the Ambulance Association a few times to get her to the hospital. I just remember that everyone was so kind.
“I once had to call the ambulance for my daughter, too, when she was three – and again everyone was so nice. They interrupt their days to drop everything and help others. So I wanted to help the people who help others first.”
And she did. She dropped off five boxes of masks – two to a carton – with an EMT on Wednesday, leaving them in a mailbox to ensure social distancing. At the KAA’s monthly meeting that evening – conducted via conference call – she was congratulated for her compassion and thanked for her generosity.
“The KAA is grateful to Ms. Giaccone for her family’s donations of the masks,” said Mike Haaga, the Ambulance Association’s chief of service. “It is imperative to keep our technicians safe and well so they can continue to respond to calls for help in our community. Her donation will go a long way toward that end. As always, the KAA can count on the help of our neighbors.”