Owners Are Offering Their Empty RVs To Medical Staff During Coronavirus Fight

Owners Are Offering Their Empty RVs To Medical Staff During Coronavirus Fight

While Facebook might not be known for doing much good in this world, a group of RV owners are helping to make a difference in the lives of those on the frontlines of the coronavirus outbreak.

The group, called RVs 4 MDs, is connecting hospital workers with campers and RVs. The page currently sits at over 6,000 members. They are devoted to connecting first responders and medical staff with peoples’ unused campers and RVs where they can self-quarantine while working.

While most Americans are sealed up at home to avoid the deadly COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the nation, doctors and nurses are doing the exact opposite. They have to go out and face the danger. But they also have families at home and are obviously at high risk of spreading the virus at home. One answer is to stay away while working but this can also be difficult. Here’s an example of a common post on the site:

The pages are filled with posts like these, as well as RV owners offering their recreational vehicles to doctors and nurses battling the outbreak. The page was started by Emily Phillips, the wife of an ER doctor living in Celina, Texas, according to CNN. She got the idea after she took to her personal Facebook asking if anyone had a spare RV for her husband to live in. She realised they couldn’t be the only family in need.

“Before the RV, I was a nervous wreck. Every time my husband walked in the door or put his hand on something, I thought we were going to get (Covid-19), including my baby,” Phillips said. “But now that he’s in that RV, I’m back to my life, focused on my full-time job and my kids, and it’s completely changed our situation.”

Phillips and her business partner created RVs 4 MDs groups and, after just a week, the pages are filled with offers from RV enthusiasts from across the country. It’s the kind of heartwarming coming together we need right now, not to mention one that occurs all too infrequently on social media.

Unfortunately, not everyone loves to see it. An HOA in Florida is threatening to issue a $US1,000 ($1,653) fine to a nurse who parked an RV in her driveway to self-quarantine. Despite receiving a ton of backlash, the HOA defended the move, according to News4jax:

“We have a number of residents who work in the medical field and not one of them has signalled a need to keep an RV at their residence ‘just in case.’ Nor has there been a pubic call to provide RVs for the purpose of quarantining individuals outside of direct hospital care.

“The HOA Board’s position is simple … we will support and accommodate to the maximum extent possible, any valid need, and will organise community support for any resident or family that falls prey to the COVID-19 virus (or other emergent need), to provide any and all assistance desired. MPCA holds in the highest regard, law enforcement, first responders, our military, and all medical professionals who place themselves at greater risk to take care of the rest of us should we ever need medical assistance.”

HOAs are already evil incarnate, but this is beyond the pale. Plus, Florida in general hasn’t been taking the coronavirus threat seriously so far. The Governor just issued a stay-at-home order as of yesterday as infection rates in the state ballooned by 1,000 new cases in a single day, according to the Miami Herald.

These folks are working long hours in brutal conditions while dealing with life and death everyday. We’ve all seen the sores from the masks on the tired faces begging us on social media to stay home. These folks deserve a little rest and the peace of mind that they are protecting their families while saving patients’ lives and it’s amazing that strangers from across the internet are willing to step up to the plate.


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