'I Will Sleep When the Healthcare Workers Do': Stamford Hero

STAMFORD, CT — When times are tough, heroes emerge. We all know someone who's making a difference right now as we live through unprecedented times. Here at Patch, we've launched an initiative to help recognize these everyday heroes.

This submission comes from Charity Poth of Stamford, who nominated Charlotte Poth:

Where the nominee lives:
Stamford

Where the person who nominated the hero lives:
Stamford

Name of the nominee:
Charlotte Poth

Name of the person who nominated the hero:
Charity Poth

Is the nominee considered an “essential worker”?:
No

What does the nominee do for work?:
My daughter knows from personal experience the dedication, talent and skill that our healthcare workers possess. When COVID-19 came roaring in, and our healthcare workers and their families were put in grave danger due to the lack of PPE, Charlotte didn't skip a beat. She galvanized immediately.

She started a community group here in Stamford, called PPE2OurCommunity, sourcing PPE that small businesses or individuals might want to donate to hospitals (@PPE2OurCommunity on Instagram). Charlotte realized when it comes to rectifying the PPE shortage; power is in numbers…and in connections. She started reaching out to the medical schools in CT and finally got together with a group of medical students at Yale. She merged her efforts with theirs, and they began CT PPE Drive (ctppedrive.com) together, both sourcing donations and launching a fundraiser.

One of the students involved had a relative with connections to a factory in China producing certified KN95 masks. The kids launched a fundraiser and raised $15,000. They have delivered masks all across the state, and Charlotte brought 300 KN95’s to Stamford Hospital last week. They have another shipment of 4,000 masks coming in two weeks, a large number of them also going to Stamford Hospital.

Recently, Charlotte heard a report on WNYC about the healthcare worker deaths at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center in Brooklyn due to the lack of PPE. Charlotte did research and saw that there are other student run groups like hers in New York City. She reached out to them, and in 48 hours Kingsbrook was flooded with 13,000 pieces of PPE from three different groups. She looked for local companies making 3D masks and asked them to donate them to Kingsbrook. She talks to her contact at Kingsbrook Hospital every week, vowing to ride the pandemic out with her. And she will. This was just the beginning of her efforts to help them.

A big part of what my daughter does is call hospitals to see what they actually need. Stamford Hospital needs sterile Level 2 gowns more than anything else. So does Kingsbrook. This is a theme she hears frequently. So, Charlotte put her research skills to work. She studied and investigated until she found a reputable, certified supplier of gowns out of Australia and Canada. Raymond is sourcing rompers, gowns, and N95’s for her all over the world. She has ordered each piece from him and is having them sent to YNHH to be tested for quality.

Now, the group is changing course. They have started a new fundraiser for gowns, and if the gowns Raymond sent pass the test, they have thousands of them lined up. But she is no longer staying within state lines. The need is with One Brooklyn Healthcare systems, it is with Stamford Hospital. It is everywhere. And she wants to help the hardest hit institutions. She wants all of the groups like hers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to come together as one. To pool all of their resources together, to fundraise together, to advocate together.

Their plan is to do a tri-state fundraiser and buy sterile gowns in bulk. According to Charlotte's contact at Stamford Hospital, they go through 5,000 N95's a day. Charlotte wants to meet that need, and then some. She believes that as our healthcare workers are protecting the health of the public, it is the duty of the public to protect theirs.

Why do you believe the nominee should be recognized or honored?
When I tell my daughter to stop working so hard on this, to take a day to sleep in or read a book, she says to me, "Mom. They aren't sleeping. They aren't watching a movie. They are working 60 hour weeks with no end in sight. I will sleep when the healthcare workers do."

What's one thing you want everyone to know about your hero?:
My daughter is resilient beyond words. She was hit by a car while crossing the street in December, 2016. The trauma team at Stamford Hospital saved her life. She lost so much after the accident. The job she loved more than anything. Friends who couldn't handle it. She hunkered down and did everything she needed to do to recover, with doctors and nurses and physical therapists by her side. They were the ones who were there for her when she was vulnerable. She will stop at nothing to be there for them now.

All photos included in this post are owned by identified third parties who have given Patch the right to use explicitly for the Patch Local Heroes series.