New Canaan Coronavirus Update: Thank You To Grace Farms

NEW CANAAN, CT — In his nightly coronavirus (COVID-19) update on Wednesday, New Canaan Emergency Management Director Mike Handler thanked the Grace Farms Foundation for its assistance in procuring personal protective equipment for the town's first responders and health care workers.

In April, the foundation launched the Grace Farms Relief Fund for Connecticut, which used $2.5 million in private donations to procure PPE for hospitals and agencies in Fairfield County and other parts of the state.

"Before long, Rod Khattabi and the entire team at Grace Farms Foundation built a full-service enterprise," Handler wrote, also singling out Sharon Prince and Assistant Fire Chief Russ Kimes for their help. "Over the weeks, they have donated over 30,000 pieces of equipment to New Canaan, where it was used on the front lines by police, fire, ems, health, Waveny LifeCare Network, Silver Hill Hospital and our COVID-19 testing sites."

New Canaan and other Connecticut communities are continuing to battle the virus, with confirmed cases in town at 194, and the number of deaths remaining at 25 as of Wednesday, according to Handler. (Don't miss local and statewide news about coronavirus developments and precautions. Sign up for Patch alerts and daily newsletters.)

Statewide, the number of confirmed cases rose by 374 to 30,995 as of Wednesday, and the number of deaths also increased by 85 to 2,718, according to state health officials.

Coronavirus-related hospitalizations in Connecticut dropped by 55 to 1,445.

This is part of Handler's Wednesday update:

Over these past 8 weeks, New Canaan’s first responders have been pushed to the limits. I am pleased to be able to share with you that 911 calls for medical service in town are returning to more manageable pre-COVID-19 levels. This is indeed a positive data point. It is also worth noting, that throughout this entire experience, our public safety professionals have stayed for-the-most part healthy and inservice—which was no easy feat. I credit much of their success to their having the very best in personal protective equipment, as well as the proper training to ensure it was being used properly.

Back in early March, as we were working to procure vital N95 masks, gowns, gloves, face shields and goggles, we soon realized the challenges we would face. The solution was right here in New Canaan, as Sharon Prince emerged as a procurement powerhouse helping us to source and deliver vital equipment. Before long, Rod Khattabi and the entire team at Grace Farms Foundation built a full-service enterprise. Over the weeks, they have donated over 30,000 pieces of equipment to New Canaan, where it was used on the front lines by police, fire, ems, health, Waveny LifeCare Network, Silverhill Hospital and our COVID-19 testing sites. With the distribution assistance of our very own New Canaan Volunteer Fire Company No. 1, under the leadership of Assistant Chief Russ Kimes, Grace Farms Foundation launched the Relief Fund for Connecticut and went on to supply over 1 million pieces of personal protective equipment to front line responders, nursing homes, and hospitals throughout Connecticut. Their incredible efforts kept our first responders
safe, gave countless frontline healthcare workers the confidence to do their jobs and undoubtedly saved lives.

We are certainly not out of the woods just yet, but I thought you might like to know just how we managed to avoid the equipment shortages that sadly plagued others.