Water damage disrupts holiday toy drive at Pittsburgh-area health clinic
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A local health center has been working to collect donations for its annual toy drive, but the day after Thanksgiving, they found their collection destroyed.
Workers at the UPMC Mathilda Theiss Health Center found a devastating surprise on Friday, returning to work after the holiday to find water damage throughout their building.
"We'll be starting from scratch. A lot of things were ruined that were diligently gathered to give away to our patients," said Michelle Hardeman, LPN and charge nurse at the health center.
Diapers, formula, and supplies are now ruined, and toys for their annual toy drive were directly impacted.
"We had probably 25-30 toys already at this point in the season, and a ceiling tile right above the sack of toys kind of just gave way and all trashed. Even the paper wishlist we had for the toys that were desired was waterlogged and destroyed. Pretty depressing Friday morning for all of us," said Dr. Jonathan Yadlosky, the clinic director.
The health center provides primary care services to patients in the Hill District and surrounding neighborhoods, seeing on average, between 200-400 patients weekly.
"It's absolutely vital. We see ourselves as a safety net. We see ourselves as primary care and also a next step or warm handoff to specialty care when that's needed," Dr. Yadlosky said.
The damage was caused while repairs were being made to the building's roof, and while it's unclear exactly what went wrong, doctors say they're focused now on getting reopened within the coming weeks, but they're asking for grace.
"It's going to be a loss for our community, and we're hoping that we can get back online as soon as possible," Hardeman said.
"We are going to figure this out," Dr. Yadlosky added.
The center is accepting donations for their toy drive, including toys, hats, gloves, and coats for children of all ages.
For more information about how to help, click here to email those in charge of the toy drive.
