Real Housewives of New Jersey star Dolores Catania is using her platform to help medical professionals in her area get access to badly needed supplies.
The 49-year-old Bravo star chatted exclusively with DailyMailTV while self-isolating at her home about how she is stepping up in her community in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
After a local hospital reached out asking for medical masks, Catania took to social media to implore her fans to join her in doing what they could for St. Joseph’s Health Foundation in honor of National Doctor’s Day and National Nurses Week.
Doing good: Real Housewives of New Jersey star Dolores Catania chatted exclusively with DailyMailTV about donating boxes of masks to her local hospital for medical professionals on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis
‘I want to save the world, of course, but I have to focus on what I can get my hands on, and that’s where I grew up,’ Dolores told DailyMailTV.
She added: ‘It’s my community, you know Paterson, they don’t call me Paterson Dolores for nothing.’
Catania, a native of Paterson, New Jersey, said that the response to her call to arms has been overwhelming.
‘You know, my platform has always been my greatest thing,’ she said. ‘So I started posting things about St. Joe’s and I’ve gotten so many messages with helping.’
‘I want to save the world, of course, but I have to focus on what I can get my hands on, and that’s where I grew up,’ Dolores told DailyMailTV. ‘It’s m y community, you know Paterson, they don’t call me Paterson Dolores for nothing.’
Using her platform: After a local hospital reached out asking for medical masks, Catania took to social media to implore her fans to join her in doing what they could for St. Joseph’s Health Foundation
The reality TV star got in contact with Masks4Medicine, great nonprofit organization that provides masks and other personal protective equipment for those in need.
Started by New York City doctors, the grassroots campaign aids the brave healthcare professionals who are currently on the the frontlines tackling the coronavirus crisis.
Dolores went and picked up masks from the group and was able to deliver them to her local hospital, St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center.
Taking action: The reality TV star got in contact with Masks4Medicine, great nonprofit organization that provides masks and other personal protective equipment for those in need
Stepping up: Dolores donned her own protective masks while trucking in dozens of masks to St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in her hometown of Paterson, New Jersey
Amazing! Started by New York City doctors, Masks4Medicine, is a grassroots campaign aids the brave healthcare professionals who are currently on the the frontlines of the coronavirus crisis
According to the star, thousands of N95 masks, surgical masks, hand sewn masks and other medical equipment were donated and given directly to local doctors in need, at the epicenter of the outbreak in the United States.
Catania had previously said on social media that St. Joe’s ‘near and dear’ to her heart and like a part of her family.
‘Our doctors, nurses, and front line staff have not backed down from this global pandemic,’ she wrote on social media. ‘I am so proud of the way they have continued to put their own health and wellbeing on the line in order to care for our community – for MY community!’
Crisis: Catania’s boyfriend, Dr. David Principe, is one of those brave medical professionals still working through this global crisis and Dolores is doing her best to stay healthy, alongside her two children, her ex-husband Frank, and beau (Pictured in August)
Catania’s boyfriend, Dr. David Principe, is one of those brave medical professionals still working through this global crisis.
Meanwhile, Dolores is doing her best to stay healthy, alongside her two children, her ex-husband Frank, and beau David.
‘I don’t know what he is going to bring home,’ Dolores told DailyMailTV.
‘I don’t know what he is going to bring home,’ Dolores told DailyMailTV. ‘He’s still delivering babies and the mother has tested positive for COVID. There’s an influx in the hospital in that area, it’s the third busiest delivery room in the nation.’
‘He’s still delivering babies and the mother has tested positive for COVID. There’s an influx in the hospital in that area, it’s the third busiest delivery room in the nation,’ she explained.
Catania has starred on RHONJ since season seven but had previously been featured on the Garden State franchise as a ‘friend’ of the housewives in seasons one, three and four.
Season 10 of the show just wrapped up last month on Bravo.
Bravo: Catania has starred on RHONJ since season seven and season 10 of the show just wrapped up last month on Bravo (Pictured: (l-r) Jennifer Aydin, Dolores Catania, Teresa Giudice, Andy Cohen, Margaret Josephs, Melissa Gorga, Jackie Goldschneider)