Lending a hand – one stitch at a time

In order to assist with the shortfall in medical equipment arriving at hospitals during the pandemic, and to keep medical professionals safe, area crafters have stepped up to the plate, and are helping out in the interim – one stitch at a time.

Last week we spoke to two of those individuals, one from the Endicott area and one from Athens, Pa. that have been working, non stop, to create protective facemasks for medics on the front lines of the pandemic.

Heather (Black) Eischen from Endicott, N.Y. and Joyce Pollock, from Athens, Pa. are two such crafters. Cumulatively, these two alone have been producing over 200 masks a day that are distributed to rescue workers, hospital departments, and anyone on the front lines with a need. There are many others in the community sharing in these efforts as well.

With positive cases of COVID-19 in New York State topping 30,000 as of March 25, the hospitals are already feeling the impact that a shortage of critical supplies is having on their ability to care for the numbers arriving for care. In neighboring Pennsylvania, where Guthrie’s Main Campus and Robert Packer Hospital are located, the number of confirmed cases in that county began arriving last week, with more tests pending. In Tioga County, N.Y., the number remained at two on Thursday and in Broome County, where two deaths have been confirmed, the number of cases climbed to 11.

For Heather Eischen, creating the masks was the only thing to do. 

“I started a pile of super hero material, among others, and have been doing about 50 (facemasks) a day for the past couple days,” said Eischen in an interview last week, adding, “I’m hoping to do more now that I have a streamlined process.”

When she began making them last week she said she was fumbling a bit and ran out of elastic, a shortage that was also communicated by Pollock in Athens, Pa. So instead, Eischen said, she was using ties.

“I thought I had enough ribbon to get through an apocalypse, but I ran out,” Eischen quipped, adding, “You have to keep your sense of humor at times like these.”

Eischen herself went through tough times last year, and following an accident, so she found this a fitting way to fill her time.

“I woke up one day and scrolled through Facebook, and I then saw a post where people were looking for facemasks,” said Eischen, adding, “I used a tutorial on how to make them and of what material; all I needed was a system.”

So far, Eischen has donated to workers at Lourdes Hospital, Willow Point Nursing Home, and even Wilson Hospital’s Pathology Department.

For Joyce Pollock of Athens, Pa., her move to action followed a call last week from a relative whose daughter came into contact with someone COVID-19 positive while on spring break. The daughter, according to Pollock, has been tested and is under mandatory quarantine. 

The girl’s mother, prompted by a post on Facebook she saw where Pollock made a mask for her nine-year-old grandson out of superhero material, asked her if she could make some facemasks to send to her daughter. 

And so it began.

Pollock, who worked at Robert Packer herself until December of 2018, decided to streamline her process as well, and is now on a quest to make as many masks as she can to fill the need; and at least until her material runs out.

According to Pollock, she uses 100 percent cotton that she doubles for the entire mask. She also puts two folds in it so the mask can expand and then uses elastic, which is, according to both Pollock and Eischen, in high demand. 

Because of this, Pollock has been reaching out to the community for fabric and elastic. 

For those in need, including departments at Robert Packer Hospital, she has individuals leave a bag on her porch with their name, phone number, and the quantity they are in need of. You can call Pollock at (607) 742-1546 for directions to her home in Athens, Pa.

And the porch is working well as Pollock herself has an existing illness that is making her extra cautious during the pandemic. According to Pollock, she had a mass on her pancreas in 2015 that ended up being a cyst. She ended up with sepsis and was at John Hopkins for about a month. Now home, however, she is still battling the illness. 

“I wish there was more I could do, but this is good,” said Pollock in an interview last week, adding, “Making the masks is helping the community.”

When Pollock started, she was able to make four facemasks in one hour; now, and after getting a good process in place, she can produce well over 100 in a two-day span. 

The masks, she noted, are entirely free, and she is merely asking for donations of supplies to fulfill the quantity made. You can call her at the previously listed number for more information.

For Eischen, she is making facemasks to sell on her Etsy Account, mayhembabies.etsy.com, and then utilizing the dollars from those sales to pay for the materials needed to keep the production of facemasks going. 

Over in Little Meadows, Pa., right over the border of South Apalachin, the United Methodist Church is serving as a drop off point for facemasks. They have a plastic box outside of the door to drop off of masks or supplies for others to use. They will be distributed to United Health Services at Wilson for distribution.

In Apalachin, at the fire department, a community member dropped off some facemasks to help protect first responders. They were even designed with hydrants and the popular firehouse Dalmatians!

In Owego, Cinda Lou Goodrich, who serves on the Tioga County Fair Board and coordinates the craft barn, has been making the facemasks as well. On Thursday, however, she was waiting on elastic for the finishing touches. An all too common story last week among crafters.