Western Kentucky University is donating personal protective equipment to local hospitals and healthcare providers in an effort to help combat COVID-19.
The WKU College of Health and Human Services pulled together more than 4,000 protective masks, over 600 boxes of gloves, and more than 300 isolation gowns to give away.
CHHS Dean Tania Basta said she’s thankful they had the resources available to donate.
“We thought, why would we leave them in our building when they could be helping others,” she said.
Basta said if healthcare workers don’t have the PPE they need, it puts them at risk for contracting the virus, and then they aren’t able to take care of others.
“So I thought it was a fantastic idea, I said please do it,” she said. “And lo and behold, they were able to make this happen, and we had quite a bit of reserves that we were able to donate to the hospitals.”
WKU’s School of Nursing and Allied Health also helped to identify and pull resources together for local healthcare providers.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said the state will be conducting a survey of all medical facilities in the commonwealth to find out what PPE and staff resources are available.
