Hospitals in Oklahoma City are seeing an influx of patients affected by the Coronavirus – and bracing for more impact over the coming weeks.
At OU Children’s Hospital, the staff is taking extraordinary steps to protect Oklahoma children, providing compassionate, critical care to children facing monumental health challenges. Their researchers and physicians are collaborating with each other and others around the world to find the best treatments for children who may be diagnosed with Coronavirus and all other diseases and injuries. They are a place of hope and a cornerstone of the community.
As the needs of the community change in response to the growing and intensifying outbreak, so too do those of the local hospitals. In communicating with Linzy Farrant of OU Children’s Hospital Foundation, Echo Energy became aware of a unique need for shirts — both long-sleeve and short-sleeve — for staff members to wear under and in place of scrubs as they pull double shifts and often sleep at the hospital instead of in the comfort of their own beds. Administratively, the hospital is also seeing an increase of patients and in turn, an increase of required paperwork. Echo Energy proudly donated over 60 shirts and multiple reams of copy paper as well to help alleviate these gaps in the short-term.
Now more than ever, the private sector can form partnerships with the public and nonprofit sectors to help deliver vital supplies and resources. With so many companies and employees across the OKC Metro working from home and social distancing, office supplies, t-shirts, hand sanitizer pumps and other materials are sitting unused in workspaces. We urge other companies to look into their inventories and donate supplies as they’re able.
If you need a place to start, we’ve compiled a list below. Together, we can fight this virus and restore the community.
- Hand sanitizer (individual and pump bottles)
- Sanitizing/bleach wipes
- Alcohol pad wipes
- Isopropyl alcohol
- Goggles, face shields or safety glasses
- Thermometers (display digital or forehead models)
- Face masks, in particular N95 Medical Masks or NIOSH-certified N95 Respirators (such as painter’s masks)
- Latex-free gloves
- Protective isolation gowns