A quick note on elevation and COVID-19: From Mammoth Hospital: Facebook Post 3/31/2020

“At sea level, you are breathing 21% oxygen,” says Mammoth Hospital Chief Medical Officer, Craig Burrows. “At 8,000 feet, our altitude, you are breathing 15% oxygen, which is roughly 30% less. For people unaccustomed to our elevation, this difference is what people feel when they travel from Los Angeles to Mammoth on a good day, and why they may feel short of breath. When you are ill with a lung infection, the problem becomes more pronounced, and what you may have been able to contend with at sea level now becomes much more problematic. Many of these previously healthy patients now require supplemental oxygen both in the hospital as well as upon discharge until they are able to return to sea level.” Our small critical access hospital only has four ventilators, and we very much hope we don’t need them all at once.

A huge thank you to our community!

Thank you to our generous community for all of the donations of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) with our Donation Drive! We have had a great outpouring of support. Our amazing sewing team has been willing to donate time to fabricate masks, shoe covers, and head covers. Right now our top three are masks, shoe covers, and head covers. We have received more than enough vacuum bags, so we are no longer needing these. If you have sewing-related questions, please contact Lily Olvera, who takes the sewing lead by email [email protected].

Link to masks here: (https://www.youtube.com/watch…)

Links to shoe covers here: <https://dianarambles.com/category/diycraft/sewing/>

Link to head covers here: https://freepatterns4scrubhats.blogspot.com/…/classic-scrub…>

Also, we cannot thank you enough for your kindness towards our employees and medical staff over the last week, from shoveling our walkways, to personal notes of thanks and encouragement, your huge outpouring of support has been amazing and we are humbled to serve this great community!

Speaking of our great community, a huge thanks from us to Visit Mammoth for offering a food bank three days a week, which makes all the difference for our locals during this challenging time. Get over there Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays from 10 am – 12 pm and 3 – 5 pm at the Promenade on Main Street (previously known as the Luxury Outlet Mall) next to Black Velvet Coffee and Sun & Ski Sports. If you wish to donate money to the food bank, you can do so online via PayPal.

Here’s that link: https://www.visitmammoth.com/…/mammoth-lakes-opens-communit…

Remember to stay safe and to love each other.

Distance. Wash. Cover.

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