Dr. Haggar volunteers time, skills to sew masks

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Faye Haggar, EdD, has been volunteering her free time and skills as a seamstress to sew masks for Nebraska Medicine.
 
Sewers in the metro area can request a kit, as they are available, that includes a medical-grade fabric that filters for particulates better than standard fabric, elastic and links to an instructional video. Each kit can make up to 60 masks.
 
"I feel like this is my opportunity to help my colleagues who are working hard in the clinical area," said Dr. Haggar, the Department of Anesthesiology’s director of education development and academic technology. "I’m hoping our efforts can help keep them safe."
 
The masks will be used by visitors and personnel without direct patient contact who still need to move about the hospital. Additionally, some will be distributed to the medical students volunteering through the UNMC CoRe: Covid Relief program as they provide childcare, pet care and errand execution for Nebraska Medicine healthcare workers in need of support.
 
The masks from this program provide protection to the persons in the hospital who aren’t directly providing patient care while reserving industrial personal protective equipment for healthcare workers on the front lines.