OPEN LETTER: MOBILIZE AT-HOME SEWERS TO MAKE PPE
Hello,
Like many of you, I have been overwhelmed by the current state of the world. So much of our daily lives have changed that it’s hard to sit down and simply process it. Through all of the noise in the news, some stories help us see a way out. What I have seen at Chester County Hospital the past couple of days is one of those stories and it is an idea worth spreading.
If you or anyone you know works at a medical facility that needs PPE please share this story.
Chester County Hospital, about 20 minutes from my shop has created a page for people to volunteer their time and supplies. One interesting part of the donation page is the section asking sewers to volunteer to make PPE. The hospital is providing us with the medical-grade surgical mask material that we pick up in sheets and take home to sew masks according to their guidelines. Each sheet of fabric makes 30 masks.
I signed up for 2 sheets myself, 60 masks total, and when I got an email last week letting me know that the fabric had arrived I made my way over to the hospital to pick them up. By the time I got to the hospital all of the fabric had already been distributed to local sewers. I was surprised and encouraged by the fact that there were so many people already involved.
The next time I got an email I jumped in the car and got to Chester County hospital within 30 minutes to pick up fabric for me and 4 other sewers. As I was pulling up, I got another notification that they were out of fabric! Since I was already there I decided to go to the drive-up donation section and get some more information on how many pieces of fabric were in each shipment.
The nurse told me that 90 sheets of fabric were picked up in 30 minutes.
90 sheets at 30 masks a sheet is 2,700 masks. Now, I'm no math wiz but that’s a ton of masks that the hospital will get back in just a few days from volunteers. As I was speaking with the nurse, another shipment arrived so I got my packs and headed back to the shop. The whole ride home I was wondering why other facilities don’t implement a similar structure.
Right now we are all looking for ways to help but don’t know the best way to go about it. This experience showed me that there are numerous at-home sewers eager to help when they have proper materials and instructions. I know that hospitals have strict guidelines form the CDC and the FDA regarding PPE but by using approved fabric and giving us guidelines from the facility everyone with a home sewing machine can help.
Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.
Chester County Hospital is currently using Sign Up Genius and currently has 1983 slots filled to sew 30 masks each. The last time I checked, that’s 59,490 masks. After doing some research here are two free websites that any facility or company can use to organize volunteers.
Please note that I am not affiliated with these websites or in a position to advise on the effectiveness of at-home PPE. I am simply trying to spread an idea that is working at one of our local hospitals. I can see this working wonders for many facilities including nursing homes, assisted living facilities, grocery stores and any life-sustaining businesses running low on supplies. Please share this with anyone who might find it interesting.
Stay home, wash your hand, and share the love.
Joy is the new currency,
David
