TOWSON, Md. — A Towson thrift store is making a big impact on patient care at Johns Hopkins hospital.
"We have furs. We have men's clothing, men's suits for $50. They’re all carefully vetted, clean and in good condition," said Dr. Roberta Ficke, President of the Women’s Board of the Johns Hopkins Hospital.
It's not what they carry, but where the money goes.
"The donations we use to buy equipment that the clinical departments at Hopkins request that they can’t afford from any other source and it’s usually top notch, innovative, state-of-the-art stuff. Sometimes it’s the first of its kind in Maryland," said Ficke.
Best Dressed Sale and Upscale Thrift Shop is run by the Women’s Board of the Johns Hopkins Hospital.
They opened at The Shops at Kenilworth in Towson over the summer after their original spot closed because of COVID-19. It’s become a major source of revenue because they can’t hold their usual fundraisers.
"We have some businesses in the hospital that aren’t doing tremendously because there’s no visitors in the hospital. This store has netted $175,000 since we opened in June," said Ficke.
All the money goes directly towards buying innovative technology to help with patient care at Johns Hopkins; most recently, a ventilator assistance device.
"It allows them to decide how to change the ventilator to optimize patients lung function and specifically in COVID patients, this is something that’s a real difficulty," said Ficke.
They’ve also donated a melanoma scanner and a low dose X-ray machine.
"In scoliosis patients, it’s 2 to 5 times less radiation so children and young people who have to have multiple radiation X-rays over the course of their scoliosis treatment have much much less radiation so it helps parents to feel comfortable bringing their kids to get the therapy they need and the monitoring they need," said Ficke.
They are running a 50% off sale right now, and are open for donating and shopping on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
