COVID-19 cases have spiked in the U.S. over the last few weeks.
With hospitals across the country announcing equipment shortages, MCCC has worked to help local and regional hospitals.
Currently the world is dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and hospitals are reporting shortages of such equipment.
In a press release from the college, MCCC’s registered nursing program has supplied ProMedica Monroe Regional Hospital with 50 isolation gowns, 2,100 gloves, 100 face masks, 30 shielded face masks and 10 pairs of goggles.
Beaumont Health System will also receive personal protection equipment including 10,000 gloves the release stated.
“Each of these facilities are valuable clinical partners of our programs and integral parts of our healthcare systems in this area,” said Kimberly Lindquist, dean of Health Sciences and director of Nursing in an email.
Lindquist said the entire plan started after a regional hospital partner made a request for campus ventilators.
“At that point, the programs began to inventory what we had available in terms of respiratory equipment and personal protective equipment (PPE) that we could send to area healthcare facilities,” Lindquist said.
Following the original request, Lindquist said more requests came from other healthcare systems.
Ijaz Ahmed, director of Respiratory Therapy, said the program has contacted other hospitals about loaning the college’s ventilators since the initial request.
So far the college has loaned two ventilators to Henry Ford Health System, which arrived to them March 26, Ahmed said.
The college has reached out to other local and regional hospitals like ProMedica, Beaumont Health and University of Michigan Hospital to loan respiratory equipment if needed.
The hospital will put the equipment through quality checks before using them on patients.
“I’m glad we’re able to help people,” Ahmed said.
MCCC’s Applied Science and Engineering Technology Division has also participated said Dean Parmeshwar Coomar.
The division donated 35 pairs of safety glasses, nine being over-prescription safety glasses from the Welding Technology program.
The Automotive Service and Technology programs donated 200 latex gloves and 28 safety glasses.
Coomar said his team is actively looking at making masks, straps and shields on the college’s rapid prototyping machines.
The MCCC Bookstore donated safety glasses and goggles as well.
Kojo Quartey, president of MCCC, and Suzanne Wetzel, vice president of Administration, were eager to approve MCCC efforts to support the pandemic said Lindquist.
This story is ongoing and will be updated.
