How ‘RVs 4 MDs’ Blossomed Into An Ad Hoc National Volunteer Service For Healthcare Workers On The Frontlines

A spontaneous idea by a Dallas-area woman for keeping her doctor husband quarantined from the rest of the family when he is off duty during the coronavirus crisis has blossomed into ad hoc, national volunteer service to match medical personnel with people willing to donate an RV or camper.

The idea, launched a week ago, is simple: Provide a cheap way for medical personnel to remain near their families without risking infecting them.

Emily Phillips tells USA TODAY that she was concerned when her husband, Jason, would return home in scrubs and medical gear after working with numerous patients daily as an emergency physician.

She said she was afraid he might inadvertently infect her, or her children, 8-year-old Landon, 5-year-old Ella, and 6-month-old Beau, who live in a large house on secluded acreage in Celina, north of Dallas.

(Dr. Jason Phillips, left, of Celina, Texas, and Dr. Craig Reese Brockman, of Frisco, Texas, examine a donated RV that Brockman will use during the coronavirus crisis. Photo credit: Emily Phillips)

While her husband has so far not knowingly dealt with a coronavirus patients, he does work with emergency cases daily.

"I've been terrified," she said of her husband's arrival each evening.

"I'm looking at him, and I say, 'oh my god, he could easily be exposed to this virus,'" Phillips said. "It only takes one droplet to contaminate the family.”

She said her mother suggested they get a RV and park it on by the house, so he would be near his family without making closer contact.

An appeal on her Facebook page a week ago quickly turned up two local offers of RVs. By the time they brought one home, Craig Reese Brockman, a local doctor who supervises residents at Parkland Hospital, a major Dallas facility, had expressed interest in getting one. Emily and Jason gave up theirs and took a second one.

Emily Phillips then took the idea online on a Facebook page dubbed "RVs 4 MD's."

Check out the full article from USA Today here!