Clarion University is supporting local healthcare professionals on the front lines of fighting coronavirus by donating protective equipment.
When the university made the decision to move classes to remote delivery and send students home to reduce the spread of coronavirus, various departments were able to donate supplies to local health services facilities. Because students are doing classwork remotely through the spring and summer, Department of Nursing sites in Clarion, Oil City and Somerset, as well as the College of Arts and Sciences and the Wellness Center, do not have immediate need for protective equipment such as gloves, masks and gowns.
"The university values all community partners and strives to work with them to meet community needs on an ongoing basis," said Tim Fogarty, associate vice president for administration. "At a unique time like we are presently in, it is especially important we do all that we can to help our community partners, such as local health care providers, to assist them in meeting the critical medical care needs of others."
The donations number 176 boxes (100-count) of gloves, 388 masks, 293 gowns and 500 caps. Additional supplies include germicidal wipes and hand sanitizer, thermometers and protective sheaths, shoe covers and splash shields. The university has also loaned several 3D printers and donated filament paper for them to assist facilities in printing protective masks. Recipients are facilities that requested the supplies.