Breakthrough skincare company, DermYoung has launched an initiative with medical spas to donate personal protection equipmemt (PPE) to local hospitals including Massachusetts General Hospital, a teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School. Like most hospitals across the country, Mass General is in need of key medical supplies required to keep medical professionals safe while treating COVID-19 patients. Upon learning about the dire need for PPE, Dr. Yang Brooks, CEO, and the DermYoung team acted quickly, reaching out to their medical spa clients across the country to ask for PPE donations. Within 24 hours, DermYoung collected more than 500 surgical and N95 respiratory masks which were immediately sent to colleagues in Boston for delivery to Mass General and other local hospitals.
This mission hits close to home. DermYoung was founded by skin scientists at Mass General. Dr. Yang Brooks, CEO, and her partners are former and current faculty of Harvard Medical School.
“It was really heartbreaking for us to learn that many of our friends and former medical colleagues at Massachusetts General Hospital and really everywhere, were managing the COVID-19 pandemic without sufficient protective gear,” says Dr. Brooks. “Our motivation to help in any way we could grew stronger when we learned that some of our friends who are on the front lines were in quarantine with possible COVID-19 symptoms. We are grateful for all the donations received in support of our initiative, especially Eden Med Spa in New York City and About Face Skin Care in Atlanta, Georgia, for their swift and generous donations. We also want to thank all the medical spa clients to whom we reached out that had already donated their supplies to their local hospitals and clinics. We are all in this together. At DermYoung, our customers are always at the heart of everything we do, and it is so gratifying to know that we are in their hearts as well.”
Within 24 hours, DermYoung collected more than 500 surgical and N95 respiratory masks which were immediately sent to colleagues in Boston.
Eden Med Spa is no stranger to supporting its community in times of duress—during 9/11, the medical spa opened its doors to support New York City firefighters and the NYPD with free massages. Now, during this pandemic, owner Yvette Jiang shares that Eden has donated protective masks to its trusted partner. “DermYoung looks after our skin as we do for our community,” states Jiang. “We are stronger when we come together, even if it’s six feet apart.” Eden Medical Spa also supplied 100 face masks to DermYoung headquarters to protect the shipping staff.
Shares Chrissy Thomas, RN, owner of About Face Skin Care, “When Dr. Brooks contacted About Face to donate much-needed masks to Mass General or other local hospitals, we didn’t hesitate. This is one of the things I love about our relationship with DermYoung. Not only do these incredible women have amazing knowledge of the skin and anti-aging, they also have an amazing way of connecting and caring.”
Dr. Brooks and her team are now extending this effort by contacting medical spas outside the immediate DermYoung customer network to encourage them to donate to their local hospital and clinics. DermYoung continues to identify sources of N95 respiratory masks, face shields, gloves, and hand sanitizer and will continue to purchase them for donations for medical institutions across the country.
To join the effort, please contact Dr. Brooks at ysbrooks@dermyoung.com or visit GetUsPPE.org for instructions submitted by health-care workers themselves, which include specifications for items they need most, as well as how to get those items to donation sites. On the website GetUsPPE, started by a group of doctors and supported by a volunteer team of developers, designers, and organizers, more than 1,500 requests for donations have been made by healthcare workers across the country seeking things like N95 respirator masks, surgical masks, hand sanitizer, face shields, and protective gowns.
“We keep coming up with possible ways to help with our medical professionals in their fight against COVID-19. Besides medical supplies, we are currently testing how to best treat excessively washed, itchy, flaky hands and the bruising left after wearing N95 for extensive hours. We will do everything in our power to protect our communities, especially the brave people who are selflessly working to end this pandemic,” pledges Dr. Brooks.