NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The Yale-New Haven Hospital campuses were busy Thursday and not just handling patients, who have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
The day was marked with giving back.
Yale-New Haven Hospital employees, in the middle of this whole coronavirus pandemic, still having time to answer the call to arms.
Nearly 100 Yale employees filling all of the slots in a much-needed blood drive.
“We, in Connecticut, are already down in just this few weeks span 240 drives, said Lynne Phillips, on the American Red Cross.
But, Red Cross is keeping sites safe by taking temperatures of anyone, who enters the site and constantly sanitizing.
“I wanted to help and I have type O, which I know is what everyone wants and needs,” said YNHH employee Elizabeth Gonsalves. “So, I want to do my part.”
And, while some waited to see if they were going to be reassigned to the emergency department or ICU because of this pandemic, they still felt it’s important to give back
“This is what we signed up for and people always say they want to help people when they apply to medical school and PA school and this is, this is the time where the rubber meets the road right here,” said Ryan Artigliere, a physician’s assistant, Yale-New Haven Health.
On both Yale-New Haven campuses today, the New Haven Pizza Truck was letting their dough show their appreciation, making up nearly 200 pizzas.
“On the house,” exclaimed Frank Bernardo, Owner of New Haven Pizza Truck.
“Anytime we get a chance to help the community out, we are there,” says Bernardo. “We do a lot for everybody. And this is a big deal for us.”
But, so that they conform with social distancing guidelines, there was a designated person from each department to pick up.
“So, we know how many boxes of pizza for each department,” said Lisa Iannone, part of the New Haven Pizza Truck team. “We will make a phone call and say hey your pizzas are ready come on down.”
Between both of the hospital’s New Haven campuses, they fed roughly 700 employees today.
And one of the pizzas delivered to each department was in the shape of a heart.