Following news on the overwhelming number of COVID-19 cases and their impact on New York hospitals from her home in Loveland, a former bedside nurse is worried for the well-being of health care workers in Greater Cincinnati.

“These nurses aren’t going to stop taking care of patients to take care of themselves," she said.

Alicia Scheffer, 38, is a certified nurse practitioner and currently works as a hospitalist for Sound Physicians. Scheffer started a GoFundMe on Monday, hoping the community would come together to "take care of the only people equipped to take care of us."

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Scheffer believes Cincinnati is just about a week behind New York's trend. A state-by-state outlook posted by USA Today shows how the exponential growth of the new coronavirus poses potential risks for large outbreaks nationwide.

"States that have few reports of people with the virus but are following the curve of places like New York and Washington could soon find themselves in a similarly dire situation without strong preventative measures," the report states.

To prepare for what could be a crisis here in Ohio, Scheffer got to work in her neighborhood, providing snacks for nurses at local hospitals. She thought back to her nursing days.

“What were the things that we didn’t do? Well, we didn’t eat, we didn’t take bathroom breaks… what would be nice ways to kind of offset some of the chaos and maybe show some community support?" Scheffer said.

Scheffer got the fundraising idea from her friend and fellow healthcare professional Whitney Whitis, who started a COVID-19 Nursing Support GoFundMe. That campaign raised over $8,000 in two days. Local restaurant owner Zach Weprin from Fusian donated gift cards towards the cause, according to the site.

The top priority for now is to get meals to the hospital workers, Scheffer told The Enquirer on Wednesday. She has been in communication with Whitis on the project.

Eventually, the money may go towards housing for nurses and other hospital employees who don't want to risk the potential of bringing the new virus home to their families. Scheffer said she has reached out to local hotels and Airbnbs with no response.

Scheffer's campaign is still in its infancy stage, she said.

“It went from feeding, to maybe housing, to who knows what the demand is? But maybe offering the public an opportunity to help where they feel like there’s nothing they can do," Scheffer said.

Other community groups have started sewing masks at home to donate to the cause.

You can donate to help feed (and potentially house) local healthcare employees on the GoFundMe site. Scheffer is also looking for support and donations from local businesses.

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