NEW ORLEANS — When Paul Tassin rides his bike from Mid-City to Gentilly, he’s not doing it for his own health. He’s doing it for the health of others.
Tassin founded a group called Stitchers Without Borders. When he heard about the shortage of medical masks for hospitals and other medical facilities during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, he turned to Facebook and tried to recruit people to help him sew them.
Within a matter of weeks, the group grew to have dozens of members and was sewing hundreds of masks a week that were shipped to local hospitals as well as other facilities around the country.
“I just started the group myself and saw who would show up.” Tassin told WGNO.
When Tassin logs the miles on his bike, he’s usually making a run to procure more donated fabric for the masks.
As the supply of masks increases for medical workers, perhaps the need for Tassin’s group will diminish. But now, many businesses are requiring customers to wear masks, and Tassin also believes his group could go on to sew other medical supplies like scrubs, caps and perhaps even medical gowns.
To find out more about Stitchers Without Borders, click on the video at the top of this page.
Healthcare Hero of the Day is a 20 part series from WGNO to honor a variety of people who are on the front lines or doing their part to battle the coronavirus. The series is sponsored by Schonberg Care.
