WASHINGTON — A head nurse in Montgomery County is taking matters into his own hands amid a nationwide shortage of personal protective gear for healthcare workers. He's having thousands of masks produced in factories to help local hospitals and healthcare facilities.
As a veteran nurse and shift supervisor at Holy Cross Hospital, Stanislaus "Stan" Akisah knows all too well the challenges healthcare workers are facing in the thick of this COVID-19 era.
"As a healthcare provider, you go in there, you pray before you start, and say, 'God I'm just trying to help,'" Akisah said. "It's a little nerve-wracking at this time, but we all know it’s a calling."
Like medical workers around the country, Akisah is also grappling with the shortage of PPE, like gloves and face masks. When he thinks about his wife and small children at home, concerns intensify about the threat of exposure.
"If you don’t have the right tech equipment, you can easily infect yourself," he said.
For more than a decade, Askisah, who is also a fashion designer and owner of Stalion Clothing in Laurel, Md., has dedicated his life to helping others and now he's taking it a step further.
With the help of manufacturers overseas, he is having thousands of surgical masks made to help local hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities.
"We're making about 3,000 surgical masks right now and 500 of the N-95s," he said. "I've had $500 in donations, so this will increase the amount that we’ll be able to donate."
Akisah said the factories he is using can produce up to 200,000 masks a day. He expects his first shipment next week and will donate 1,000 face masks to healthcare providers in the area.
Other masks will be distributed masks from his Stalion Clothing store located at 8851 Gorman Road, No. 102 in Laurel, Md. 20723.
"It's important that we do this early and get them (masks) out before it (pandemic) gets worse,” he said.
If any healthcare providers would like to use his factories' services to produce any type of PPE contact Akisah at info@stanlio.com or call 240-481-7677.