National programs helps Murrysville man loan RV to Ohio nurse during pandemic

Gregory Vincent’s 40-foot recreational vehicle was sitting in storage, waiting for the day he could drive it across country with the car he drives in autocross competitions in tow.

But the coronavirus shutdowns closed autocross competitions for the foreseeable future, so much so that Vincent doesn’t believe they will resume until fall.

So, the Murrysville resident saw an opportunity to put his house on wheels to good use when he read in an RV magazine that an organization was seeking RV owners to lend their vehicles to frontline covid-19 health care workers wanting temporary shelter so they don’t infect their families.

“I figured I would do something that helps people,” said Vincent, a retired Westinghouse Electric Corp. engineer.

Vincent said he registered with RVs 4 MDs, a nonprofit formed last month by two Dallas-area women, which connected him with a health care couple from Columbiana, Ohio, located between East Liverpool and Youngstown. Vincent drove the 80 miles on April 25 to deliver his RV to them so the husband, who is a nurse for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, can seek safe shelter after seeing covid-19 inmates who are hospitalized in four cities, Vincent said.

Vincent said he has an agreement with the couple that they can use the RV free of charge until August. The RV, with all of the accessories of indoor living, gets 9 miles to a gallon of diesel fuel, Vincent said.

As to what to do with the RV when he gets it back, to make sure no one gets infected with the coronavirus, Vincent said he plans to park it and let it bake in the summer sun for several days, hopefully killing any virus that might be inside. Those using the RV, who have not been identified, have said they would cleanse it with sanitizing wipes.

At Excela Health in Greensburg, a physician from Pittsburgh was able to use a 24-foot RV owned by Renae Becker of Conneautville, Crawford County. The vehicle was able to fit in his driveway so that he did not infect his family while treating covid-19 patients. The doctory, who was not identified, used it for two weeks, Becker said.

Becker, who has RVs because the company she operates provides cleaning services to hotels in multiple states, wanted to help when she heard about the initiative to help healthcare workers and first responders coming into contact with covid-19 patients.

“It’s incredible. They are really out on the front lines,” Becker said, and have to be careful, especially if they have elderly people or babies in the family.

Since the initiative to match RV owners with covid-19 health care workers, the organization has matched more than 1,200 donors and recipients and have more than 30,000 members in its public Facebook group, said Gretchen Stofer Darby, a spokeswoman from Prosper, Texas.

Denise Caralli of Irwin, local volunteer coordinator for RVs 4 MDs, said she became involved with the effort when her sister, a nurse practitioner, was scheduled to work with covid-19 patients at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. They wanted a place for her to stay when she was off work because she did not want to infect her sons, Caralli said.

It is not always easy making a match between a health care worker and an RV owner willing to lend their vehicle, Caralli said.

“There are a lot more logistical details involved in making matches than expected,” such as the size of the vehicle and the availability of space to park it long term, Caralli said.

“The donors are so very generous and often times drive very far to provide a protective space and some peace of mind to someone in need who is working closely with covid-19 positive individuals,” Caralli said.