Coronavirus: IndyCar driver Pippa Mann donates gas cards to hospital housekeeping staff

INDIANAPOLIS — Pippa Mann drives for a living, so the IndyCar driver knows the importance of fuel. On Tuesday, Mann made a pit stop at an Indianapolis hospital to give some health care workers who are fighting the coronavirus pandemic some gas.

Mann, who is affiliated with Shell on the IndyCar circuit, handed out 50 $100 Shell gift cards to the housekeeping staff at Ascension St. Vincent Hospital, WXIN reported.

“Just as the drivers tend to get the glory in motor racing, doctors and nurses tend to get the glory in health care situations,” Mann told reporters. “All of the frontline workers are at greater risk than the general population. So to be able to recognize another group of them and to be able to do something small for them is really, really fantastic.”

Jordan Evans, one of the housekeepers at the hospital, has returned to work after a mild case of COVID-19, WTHR reported. Evans said she was grateful for the gift from Mann.

“I think it’s really cool that people are taking notice of what we do,” Evans told the television station. “I don’t feel like we’re the heroes here. But it’s great that people think we are.”

Evans said she did not know how she contracted the coronavirus.

“I had been sick on and off for two months. I had gotten a false negative. Came to work still. Headaches, nausea, sore throat, fevers,” Evans told WXIN. “I’ve worn all of the proper equipment. It’s just something that happened.

“With as many cases as we’ve had come in, especially in the ER, it’s always, go, go, go -- COVID, COVID, COVID -- I’ve definitely learned it’s very, very important to make sure you clean them (hospitals) real well. That way nobody else gets it.”

Mann said she appreciated the work the housekeeping staff members do and was happy to give them the gas cards.

“The doctors and nurses have had so much recognition, and deserve the recognition during the pandemic,” Mann told WXIN. “But it’s kind of cool to recognize other frontline staff who are working in the fight against COVID-19.”

Cox Media Group