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Blood Donations, Funds Needed in COVID-19 Battle

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

There is no shortage of organizations in need of assistance during the coronavirus pandemic, and Athenians wanting to help in a variety of ways. The American Red Cross is urging healthy individuals to donate blood during this time. The organization says every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood. Visit RedCrossBlood.org, or call 1-800-Red Cross or 1-800-733-2767 to make an appointment.

Both Piedmont Athens and St. Mary’s Hospitals are accepting financial donations as well to help cover costs for additional equipment, protective clothing and other items needed.  

St. Mary’s has created a COVID-19 Response Fund to assist with purchasing medical equipment, masks, ventilators, nebulizers, protective clothing and other items needed by patients and colleagues. Anyone who wants to help can make a tax-deductible contribution at www.stmarysheathcaresystem.org/foundations.  Donors can designate which facility they want their donation to be used for.

Piedmont Athens Regional has established a COVID-19 Infrastructure Fund. Proceeds raised for the hospital’s COVID-19 Infrastructure Fund will support its drive-through test collection site, which offers testing to people who are self-isolating at home with symptoms that are moderate and who meet the screening guidelines set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The site is located at Piedmont Athens Regional’s Oconee Health Campus in Watkinsville, Ga. In order to receive testing, patients must be pre-screened by calling 1-866-460-1119.

For more information about the Piedmont Athens Regional Foundation or to support its COVID-19 Infrastructure Fund, visit piedmontathensgive.org.

Cloth masks are being accepted at Piedmont Athens Regional Hospital. The facility is accepting donated cloth masks for emergency department patients with respiratory symptoms who do not have COVID-19. The masks prevent patients’ secretions from spreading and allows the hospital to use surgical and procedural masks for health care providers.

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