Neighborly love brings locally-sewn scrubs to small hospital
SELLERSVILLE, Pa. -- "Early on in this process, every hospital was pretty much every person for themselves trying to find masks and personal protective equipment," said Mark Horne, the Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Grand View Health.
The small Bucks County hospital, which has only 169 beds, was suffering from lack of equipment due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But today, they are sitting on thousands of masks.
It started with a simple phone call between two community leaders. Horne's cell phone was buzzing with an eager Henry Thompson of American Safety Clothing on the other line. What happened next was a match made in heaven.
Staff at Grand View Health drove four minutes down the road to deliver its surplus of blue surgical wrap to American Safety Clothing. Within 24 hours, the talented designers had crafted a blueprint to sew around 5,000 masks with the material.
The personal protective equipment manufacturer, which typically specializes in industrial and electrical safety industries, was closed down for a week to heed the governor's orders.
But when the need from Grand View Health came into their crosshairs, employees came back to risk their lives every day producing PPE. It was a no-brainer effort they decided to call, "Neighbors Helping Neighbors."
American Safety Clothing is now able to share their masks with other community organizations such as Re:Vivals, which still feeds those in need during the crisis. Similarly, other individuals and groups are making donations to Grand View Health, totaling over $60,000 to date.
Horne emphasizes the importance of their community connections. Without the magnanimous people they have connected with over the years, Grand View Health would be stuck bartering with high-priced PPE manufacturers. Alternatively, they would have to reuse masks and scrubs. This is no longer an issue thanks to a little neighborly love.
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