SLV Health Receives Large Donation of Masks
SLV Health
Monica Hinds, RN, SLVH Emergency Department Director, helps to unload the mask kits donated by the Colorado Hospital Association along with Ryan Daugherty, SLVH EMS Director and Lt. Colonel Chad Grondahl of the Civil Air Patrol, Colorado Wing.
Staff from SLV Health made a special trip to the San Luis Valley Regional Airport in Alamosa recently to meet a very special plane - one that was carrying 5000 mask kits.
Colorado Hospital Association donated the mask kits to SLV Health, and the flight to get the kits to the valley was donated by the pilots who volunteer with Civil Air Patrol. When the plane landed, it was greeted by Michelle Gay, CHC, SLVH Director of Compliance; Monica Hinds, RN, SLVH Emergency Department Director; and Ryan Daugherty, SLVH EMS Director.
“We can’t thank the Colorado Hospital Association enough for their incredible work and dedication to rural communities during this crisis,” said Gay. “We appreciate the latest donation and want them to know how fortunate we are to have a partner in them. Our team is incredibly grateful.”
In March, SLV Health underwent a shortage of personal protection equipment (PPE) such as masks and gowns when its supply chain was overwhelmed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The San Luis Valley community was quick to jump in and assist the health organization, making masks and gowns, and in some cases even donating their own personal supply of PPE equipment. Now, with the addition of the mask kits, the sewers are getting ready to help once more.
“We are slowly getting the word out to all of our local seamstresses in the valley that may be interested in helping once again,” Gay said. “These are amazing men and women that want to continue to sew and help keep us safe.”
The cloth masks are used for SLV Health employees who don’t have direct contact with clinical patients, so that the N95 masks and other vital PPE are reserved for use by the medical staff that need them most.
Anyone interested in helping sew masks can contact Michelle Gay at 719-587-6362 or by email at michelle.gay@slvrmc.org.