IHA, Hospitals Plea for PPE Donations

March 23, 2020

Last Thursday (March 19), IHA issued a public plea to the leaders of associations for the construction industry, dentists, veterinarians, colleges and universities, and other groups that may be able to help by donating unused N95 masks and related personal protective equipment (PPE) to Illinois hospitals.  In addition to businesses, community members across the state have responded to IHA’s plea, asking how they can help their local hospitals by donating masks, hand sanitizers or wipes, or even sewing masks at home. Since hospital needs for supplies and materials vary, we are directing interested donors to visit the website of their local hospitals to check on their specific needs.

Carle Foundation Hospital embraced their community support and created a website that includes specific instructions on how to make and package home-sewn masks. IHA will continue to encourage volunteers who contact us expressing interest in donating homemade masks to contact their local hospital.

The Illinois Dept. of Public Health (IDPH) released a bulletin over the weekend encouraging donations from Outpatient Surgical and Procedural Centers, Ambulatory Surgery Centers and Veterinarians, requesting surgical gloves, gowns, goggles, face shields, surgical masks, and N95 respirator masks.  IHA will direct all interested donors of PPE to contact IDPH at PPE.donations@illinois.gov or to visit a special PPE donation webpage.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued guidance on “Extended Use and Limited Reuse of N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirators in Healthcare Settings."

Aligning with its mission to give back to the communities it serves, big and small across the U.S., Harbor Freight Tools has decided to donate its entire supply of selected personal protective equipment to front line hospitals with 24-hour emergency rooms in communities served by its stores. Specifically, Harbor Freight is donating N95 masks, face shields and 5 mil and 7 mil nitrile gloves.

Hospital procurement staff are asked to submit their PPE request form so that Harbor Freight can determine if it is able to fulfill the request. Those who would like to submit a name of a hospital in need can send an email to hospitalhelp@harborfreight.com with the hospital’s city and state in the subject line. Hospitals selected for assistance will be emailed a voucher when the supplies are available for pick up at their local Harbor Freight Tools store.

The company asks that all requests follow this process. Please do not contact local stores or its call center.