Making face masks for the Chinese flu? Turns out that hospitals might not accept them. From the St. Charles, Illinois Kane County Chronicle:
Joann Fabrics' mask-making promotion raises questions
Joann Fabrics and Crafts is donating fabric kits for volunteer sewers to create homemade masks for hospitals and health care workers.
A news release on its corporate website, news.joann.com, dated March 20 announces that the company “mobilizes crafters across the nation to help protect health care workers.”
“As hospitals and health care facilities run dangerously low on critical supplies, America’s crafting and sewing communities are jumping in to help,” the release stated. “Groups across the nation have started sewing and crafting protective masks, gowns and other essential items to donate, and JOANN Stores is stepping up to help as many of these generous makers and health care facilities as possible.”
The effort started this week at the chain’s 800-plus stores, said Susan Gregory, district manager for the store’s Chicagoland area region.
Unfortunately, nobody thought to ask the hospitals:
Gregory said the masks were being donated to Rush Oak Park Hospital in Oak Park and to Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital in Geneva – but spokespeople for both those hospitals said it was not true.
“Due to infection control measures, Northwestern Medicine cannot accept donations of handmade masks, gowns and other medical supplies,” according to an email from Kimberly Waterman, spokeswoman for Northwestern Medicine Delnor. “Only factory-made, hospital-quality supplies, including N95 masks, face shields, gloves, gowns, sanitizers and swabs can be donated.”
Charles Jolie, spokesman for Rush Oak Park Hospital, echoed Northwestern Medicine’s statement.
“Hand-sewn efforts are lovely and heartwarming, but we cannot use things that are not FDA approved," Jolie said. “If it isn’t FDA approved, then we can’t use it. We really do appreciate the outpouring of emotional support. … But our workers only will be given FDA personal protection equipment and we have a huge stock of those.”
Makes perfect sense as a commercially manufactured and factory sealed unit has an implied measure of safety. Homemade? Not so much.
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