When people call the Killingworth Ambulance Association they need help, often for medical emergencies. But that’s not what happened when Heidi Giaccone contacted an EMT this week. Instead of asking for assistance, she offered it.

Unusual? Keep reading.

A Killingworth resident the past 16 years, Giaccone was poking around the basement of her home one day when she found 10 R95 respirator masks sitting on a shelf in unopened boxes. Her husband had purchased them once for a Habitat for Humanity project in Connecticut, and while Giaccone knew that neither she nor her family of four would use them she knew of someone who could.

So she reached out to the Ambulance Association.

“The basement is really my husband’s domain,” said Giaccone, who works as a senior recruiter for Medtronic. “I happened to be looking for something, but masks have been on my mind. I didn’t know if they were the right kind of medical grade or not, but I was happy to share.”

Turns out they were the right kind. In fact, there is little difference between the R95 and N95 respirators, with both filtering 95 percent of airborne particles. While the N95 mask is more familiar with care-givers treating COVID-19 patients, both are approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

“I’m glad,” said Giaccone. “I just wish we had more.”

So do first responders and hospitals nationwide. There’s an acute shortage of respirators to deal with a surge of confirmed COVID-19 patients, and donations are more than welcome; they’re desperately needed. With cases this week exceeding 1,000 in Connecticut, including three in Killingworth as of Saturday, Giaccone said she knew whom to contact when she found protective masks.

“My Mom lived here for awhile at Jensen’s,” she said, “and we had to use the service of the Ambulance Association a few times to get her to the hospital. I just remember that everyone was so kind.

“I once had to call the ambulance for my daughter, too, when she was three – and again everyone was so nice. They interrupt their days to drop everything and help others. So I wanted to help the people who help others first.”

And she did. She dropped off five boxes of masks – two to a carton – with an EMT on Wednesday, leaving them in a mailbox to ensure social distancing. At the KAA’s monthly meeting that evening – conducted via conference call – she was congratulated for her compassion and thanked for her generosity.

“The KAA is grateful to Ms. Giaccone for her family’s donations of the masks,” said Mike Haaga, the Ambulance Association’s chief of service. “It is imperative to keep our technicians safe and well so they can continue to respond to calls for help in our community. Her donation will go a long way toward that end. As always, the KAA can count on the help of our neighbors.”

With the recent spike in documented cases of COVID-19 – both in Connecticut and nationwide – first responders are at greater risk of contracting the virus. For that reason, they have been reminded that, when answering calls, they must take care of themselves as well as their patients.

Naturally, they’re advised to wear masks, goggles and gowns and told to place masks on their patients. But they’ve also been notified to limit the number of persons in attendance to prevent exposure to the disease – with, if possible, one EMT and one fire personnel in a residence to assist.

Anything else? Yes. Killingworth Ambulance Association EMTs recently were given directions to follow when attending potential COVID-19 patients. Here are some of the recommendations:

• When in the ambulance, turn on the vent.
• Use temporal thermometers, otherwise known as forehead thermometers.
• Notify the hospital that you are transporting a patient with shortness of breath or a fever and advise it of respiratory precautions.
• Wash your hands with soap and water a minimum of 20 seconds.
• Use paper towels to shut the faucet and open doors.
• Decontaminate the entire ambulance, not just the patient compartment. That includes the steering wheel, all microphones and radios in the front and back and all door handles inside and out.
• At the end of ambulance run, remove and replace all personal protective equipment, including clothing, masks, goggles designed to protect the wearer’s body from injury or infection.

“KAA personal are taking this very seriously,” said Dan O’Sullivan, president of the KAA board of directors, “and they are very careful to don the appropriate gear, minimizing the number of people exposed to patients. It is also clear the Volunteer Fire Company is doing that, as well.”

Prior to touching the patient or entering a residence, first responders are advised to ask patients if they have fever, chills, coughing or shortness of breath … have traveled out of the country … had contact with persons who traveled outside the country … or work with people who recently traveled. In addition, Middlesex Hospital reportedly has changed its protocol for potential COVID-19 patients, receiving them through a separate screening process and keeping them in rooms separate from others.

The State Department of Public Health on Thursday afternoon reported the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Killingworth — a resident over 60 who is self-isolating.

“This is a very difficult time for everyone, including many of our volunteers,” said O’Sullivan. “Many of them are over the age of 60 and have comorbid conditions or vulnerable family members in their homes. Even those who don’t fall into these categories still expose themselves to the disease rather than follow the social-distancing guidelines.

“These volunteers are dedicated to providing service to the people in this town but face the difficult decision of exposing themselves … and their families … to this disease. Some have had to step away from service temporarily, and it pains them to do so. Others have tried to fill the gaps, putting more stress on them and their families. This is a very personal decision, and I appreciate the efforts and dedication of all.”

At first glance, there was nothing extraordinary about Wednesday night’s meeting of Killingworth Ambulance Association EMTs. It convened the first Wednesday of the month, as the schedule dictates. There were 14 persons there, which is about normal. And the conversation was casual.

Again, normal.

But what made this event unusual was the subject that consumed the first half-hour of discussion: Coronavirus, otherwise known as COVID-19. Originating in China, the virus has spread throughout the world and recently infiltrated the United States, with death tolls rising daily.

“It hasn’t been diagnosed in Connecticut right now,” said Mike Haaga, the KAA’s Chief of Service, “but it will.”

For that reason, Haaga briefed EMTs on precautions to assume if and when they confront patients with respiratory distress, coughs, fevers or rashes — warning them that victims are potentially infectious with airborne pathogens and offering instructions on protective equipment, pre-hospital considerations and decontamination and follow-up procedures.

“I would emphasize that the standard protocol for respiratory patients is more than enough to protect us,” he told his listeners.

But what about the public at large? How does it protect itself? Decontamination, experts say, with the most effective decontaminant also the most logical.

“Soap and water,” said Haaga. “The CDC (Center for Disease Control) says that’s the best way to clean your hands.”

Most people know that. Nevertheless, soap and water isn’t always available. So some persons resort to cleaning with hand sanitizers, which leads to the obvious question: Is there much of a difference?

Well, yes, as a matter of fact, there is – especially when it comes to COVID-19. Alcohol-based sanitizers don’t kill all types of germs and may not remove harmful chemicals like pesticides and heavy metals. Handwashing with soap does, however, reduce the amounts of all types of germs.

So how do you know when to use them? Keep reading. Below you’ll find a guide to handwashing and sanitizer use, compliments of the CDC:

WHEN SHOULD I USE?

Soap and Water

1. Before, during and after preparing food.
2. Before eating.
3. Before and after caring for someone who is sick.
4. Before and after treating a cut or wound.
5. After bathroom use, changing diapers or cleaning up after a child who used the bathroom.
6. After blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing.
7. After touching an animal, animal food or treats, animal cages or animal waste.
8. After touching garbage.
9. If your hands are visibly dirty or greasy.

Alcohol-based hand sanitizer

1. Before and after visiting a friend or a loved one in a hospital or nursing home, unless the person is sick with Clostridium difficile (which causes severe diarrhea). If so, use soap and water.
2. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol and wash with soap and water as soon as you can.
3. Do NOT use hand sanitizer if your hands are visibly dirty or greasy, for example, after gardening, playing outdoors or after fishing or camping (unless a handwashing station is not available). Wash your hands with soap and water instead.

HOW SHOULD I USE?

Soap and Water

1. Wet your hands with clean running water (warm or cold) and apply soap.
2. Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap.
3. Scrub all surfaces of your hands, including the palms, backs, fingers, between your fingers and under our nails. Keep scrubbing for 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the “Happy Birthday” song twice.
4. Rinse your hands under clean, running water.
5. Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.

Alcohol-based hand sanitizer

Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol. Supervise young children when they use hand sanitizers to prevent swallowing alcohol, especially in school and child-care facilities.

1. Apply. Put enough product on hands to cover all surfaces.
2. Rub hands together until they feel dry. This should take around 20 seconds.

Note: Do not rinse or wipe off the hand sanitizer before it is dry. It may not work as well against germs.

(For more information visit the CDC handwashing website, www.cdc.gove/handwashing)

(UPDATE 3/15: The KAA announced today that the class has been canceled)

The Killingworth Ambulance Association’s first “Stop the Bleed” class of 2020 will be held Sunday, March 15, at the KAA’s headquarters on Route 81.

The class begins at 1 p.m., is free and is open to the public.

“Stop the Bleed” is a nationwide awareness campaign (www.bleedingcontrol.org) launched in 2015 by the White House and Department of Homeland Security and is designed to empower bystanders with the training to deal with traumatic events and emergency bleeding situations before help arrives.

Its value was underscored last October at Vinal Tech in Middletown when a state trooper responding to an accident implemented a “Stop the Bleed” kit to treat what was called “a catastrophic injury” involving profuse bleeding.

Officials later said the trooper’s quick thinking may have saved the victim’s life.

The KAA first offered “Stop the Bleed” classes in July, 2017, making Killingworth the first Connecticut town to have its citizens certified. Since that time it has conducted 20 classes and had two “Stop the Bleed” stations introduced to the Killingworth Town Hall and Public Library.

For more information please contact the KAA at (860) 663-2450.