In order to combat the spread of COVID-19 in Bowling Green, WKU is donating personal protective equipment to local hospitals and healthcare providers.

The College of Health and Human Services collected over 4,000 procedural masks, 600 boxes of gloves, 300 isolation gowns, 175 shoe covers and other safety and personal care items that will be donated to TriStar Greenview Regional Hospital, Med Center Health and other partners.

“Providing our local healthcare providers with additional PPE will allow them to concentrate on providing appropriate care to patients and limit the spread of infection throughout their facilities,” Eric Browning, the clinical and simulation laboratory director for the School of Nursing and Allied Health, said.

In his daily updates on the coronavirus, Gov. Andy Beshear has mentioned national and local shortages of PPE. In fact the shortage is such an issue, it has caused the state to enter a bidding war with the federal government over supplies, he said on March 23.

Beshear has also announced bourbon companies and other businesses are working to make hand sanitizer or other materials for hospitals and first responders.  

“I am so grateful that we had PPE items available and that several individuals in CHHS reached out to me about the possibility of donating items,” said Tania Basta, the dean of the College of Health and Human Services. “This is a situation that none of us could have predicted six months ago, but now that we are in the middle of it, we all need to think about what we can do to to help our larger community.” 

Reporter Leo Bertucci can be reached at [email protected]