UAA College of Health shares personal protective equipment to meet community needs

To alleviate the growing shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) needed by health care workers on the front lines of treating COVID-19, the UAA College of Health (COH) donated 37 cases of PPE to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) today, consisting of everything including rubber gloves, face masks, isolation gowns, face shields, head caps, goggles and shoe covers. The donation is for statewide distribution to those communities in need as determined by DHSS.

Organizing the PPE inventory was a COH-wide effort, led by School of Allied Health director LeeAnne Carrothers and School of Nursing director Christine Michel, and coordinated by the statewide and UAA incident management teams.

"I want to extend my sincere appreciation to the university system for its willingness to help out the State of Alaska Health and Social Service with PPE and other supplies. This is a true example of Alaskans working together in a time of need,” said Clinton Lasley, deputy commissioner of Family, Community and Integrated Services. “On behalf of the nearly 3,500 dedicated individuals that make up the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, we salute your kindness and generosity!"

Typically used by UAA's School of Allied Health nursing students engaged in course lab work, the donated PPE supplies are surplus at the moment as the university is using alternative methods to deliver courses in compliance with social distancing measures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As such, it is crucial that the university get these critical supplies into the hands of the medical community now to contribute to the statewide move to flatten the spread of COVID-19.