Five Central Jersey high school students have started their own initiative, Students Supporting Central Jersey, dedicated to facilitating safe communication between COVID-19 patients and their families.
Hiba Jamil, Anisah Mahmood, Simra Arshad, Hafsa Rahaman and Yasmeen Sakr, who attend Noor-Ul-Iman School in South Brunswick, have started a GoFundMe to raise money to purchase iPads so that the patients can video conference with loved ones. Additionally, iPads will also be used by health professionals to practice telemedicine and conduct virtual appointments in an attempt to mitigate the spread of the virus.
Currently, hospitals have instituted a non-visitation policy, meaning that most COVID-19 patients have little to no contact with family and friends during their medical struggle; many even pass away in this condition.
These iPad donations are coordinated with Saint Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick, Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center, and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick and Somerset.
As of press time, $6,400 was raised.
Funds can be donated at www.gofundme.com/f/hospital-ipad-fund.
For more information, or to nominate another hospital in need of iPads, email sscentraljersey@gmail.com.
