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Published on May 08, 2020

Brother Drives 530 Miles to Bring Sister N-95 Masks 

His sister volunteered to care for COVID-19 patients at Cone Health Green Valley campus.

 

What a brother and sister won’t do for one another. Joshua Yajcaji and Corey Vafiadis drove 530 miles to bring Joshua’s sister a package — a package of N95 masks.  

Joshua and Corey work in New Jersey for Vivint Solar. When the company announced it was donating a box of N95 masks, Joshua asked they be given to Cone Heath. His sister, Alexis Schulman, RN, has volunteered to work Cone Health Green Valley campus — a facility exclusively for COVID-19 patients. N95 masks are a vital piece of equipment for people caring for COVID-19 patients and they remain in short supply. 

Joshua giving masks to Alexis

Joshua, Scott and Alexis

On Thursday, May 7, Joshua and Corey (who is a lifelong friend of Joshua and Alexis) drove from New Jersey to meet Alexis at Cone Health MedCenter High Point to deliver the masks.   

“On behalf of Vivint, Corey and myself, I'd like to say that I hope this helps in some measure to put your employees at ease knowing that they have enough equipment to keep them safe,” says Joshua. “Knowing that my sister (among others) is spending her time caring for others is no surprise by any means. The passion she has for this career has been made clear and if you have not seen it already, you will in the future.” 

The sibling bond and lifetime friendship was obvious to Scott Bennett, RN, nursing director, Cone Health MedCenter High Point, who accepted the donation with Alexis. “I really enjoyed hearing them laugh and be so happy to see each other. It was truly my pleasure,” says Scott. “Alexis is very dedicated to Cone Health. She has been working with us for four years at MedCenter High Point, but when asked to help our COVID-19 patients, she did so without hesitation and has worked there for two weeks.” 

“My brother and I have always stuck together, and I’m not surprised he would do this for Cone Health,” says Alexis. “It’s an organization that I call my second home and one that has always treated me right so I can focus on giving everything to my patients. Thank you so much for supporting this donation.” 

This is just another silver lining (one of many) for Cone Health during the pandemic. For others who may be interested in donating during this time, visit our COVID-19 Support Fund.