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Donations supply a booster shot to Camden Clark Medical Center

A nurse at the WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center Emergency Department with the supplies of Personal Protective Equipment donated to the hospital by the nursing program at West Virginia University at Parkersburg. (Photo Provided)

PARKERSBURG — Local nursing education programs are stepping up by donating needed protective gear to the WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center to help during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Nursing and Health Sciences division at West Virginia University at Parkersburg and the nursing program at the Wood County Technical Center donated protective supplies to the hospital.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has spread, many hospitals in the country have faced shortages of protective gear for medical personnel.

“The Nursing and Health Sciences division at WVU Parkersburg answered the call when we were notified by WVU Medicine Camden Clark of their desperate need for personal protective equipment (PPE),” said Kathy Frum, chair of Nursing and Health Sciences Division. “On behalf of the NHS division, Amy West, program director of the Surgical Technology program, and Megan Ludwig, Surgical Technology faculty member, gathered disposable PPE supplies that we had in our nursing and surgical technology labs.”

The donations, delivered last week, included sterile gowns, isolation gowns, surgical masks, surgical masks with shields, shoe covers and gloves.

Representatives from Lowes donated rain suits, 3M masks, gloves, goggles and a canopy to the WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center to help deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Local businesses and schools have been donating needed protective gear to the hospital. (Photo Provided)

“(These items were donated) to those healthcare providers on the frontline who desperately need these items to keep our community safe as well as themselves and their families,” Frum said. “The healthcare providers are truly the heroes in this crisis.”

Another donation was made by the nursing program at the Wood County Technical Center.

Julie Bertram, director of health services for Wood County Schools, and Don Brown, director of security for Wood County Schools, delivered the medical supplies Monday to the Camden Clark emergency room.

“We dropped off masks and gloves and gowns and face shields,” Bertram said. “They were for the nursing program, but now that schools are closed, we know there is a need for them at Camden Clark.”

These initiatives have the support of the leadership at WVU Parkersburg.

Jennifer Strimer, a dentist from St. Marys, donates 300 medical masks to WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center. (Photo Provided)

President Chris Gilmer said he appreciates the efforts of the employees who are using the makerspace at the university to help design alternative medical supplies for local healthcare providers and the team that provided some of the university’s stockpiled medical supplies to Camden Clark as ways of reaching out to the community in a time of need.

“I appreciate that Riverhawks are thinking strategically and proactively about how we can all support each other and how we can help to ease the burden on the healthcare system,” Gilmer said.

Over the past week, the Southside and Vienna Lowes stores donated rain suits, 3M masks, gloves, goggles and a canopy; Home Depot, Rural King, Peoples Bank and Woodcraft donated N95 masks to the hospital.

In a statement from Camden Clark, officials said while supplies are available for their staff at this time, as the incident rate of COVID-19 affects the community, they anticipate an increased demand for PPE.

“We are exceptionally grateful for the businesses, unions, and individuals who have graciously donated supplies to support our inventory,” the statement said.

Representatives from Peoples Bank present N95 protective masks to medical personnel recently at the Emergency Department at WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center. Area businesses and schools have stepped up to provide personal protective equipment to the hospital to help deal with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo Provided)

Officials at the medical center were touched by the support from the local community.

“The outpouring of local donations of personal protection equipment and supplies by our community members has been amazing and we are very grateful to the many groups who are helping support WVU Medicine Camden Clark and our employees during this important time period,” said MarJean Kennedy, vice president of marketing, Business Development and Strategic Initiatives. “We very much appreciate the generosity of groups like the Health Sciences Division at WVU Parkersburg, the Wood County Technical Center, Woodcraft, West Virginia Appalachian Laborers’ District Council and the many others whose PPE donations help ensure that our team at Camden Clark remains prepared to manage the COVID-19 outbreak as we work to maintain the health and wellness of the community we serve.”

Contact Brett Dunlap at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com

Megan Ludwig, Surgical Technology faculty member at West Virginia University at Parkersburg, and Amy West, Program Director of the Surgical Technology program at West Virginia University at Parkersburg, deliver donated Personal Protective Equipment to the Emergency Department at WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center. (Photo Provided)

The nursing program at West Virginia University at Parkersburg donated their sterile gowns, isolation gowns, surgical masks, surgical masks with shields, shoe covers and gloves to the Emergency Department at WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center. (Photo Provided)

Protective masks were donated by Lowes to the WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center. Local businesses and schools are donating personal protective equipment to the hospital as many hospitals are facing shortages in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo Provided)

From left, Amy West, program director of the Surgical Technology program at West Virginia University at Parkersburg; Megan Ludwig, Surgical Technology faculty member; and Linda Roberts, WVUP security guard, gathered the supply of disposable Personal Protective Equipment they had in the nursing and surgical technology labs and donated it to the Emergency Department at WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center as the school was closed down during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospitals nationwide are reporting shortages of such needed equipment. (Photo Provided)

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