With cases of the coronavirus increasing daily in Berks County, the need for medical supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) is also growing exponentially. Penn State Berks answered that call with a large donation of items from the college’s Science Division to Penn State Health St. Joseph’s Foundation Center on April 1.
The donation consisted of 101 boxes, each containing 100 pair of nitrile powder-free gloves, for a total of approximately 10,100 gloves. (The quantity is measured by weight.)
In addition, the college donated N95 particulate masks, disposable lab coats, and four-liter bottles of isopropyl alcohol.
Faculty and staff from the Science Division responded to the need quickly. Lab technicians in biology; biochemistry and molecular biology; and chemistry assembled the items in their respective labs and prepared them to be picked up in a very short timeframe. Faculty from the biology and biochemistry and molecular biology degree programs also pitched in to get the items ready.
Kim Berry, chief operating officer at Penn State Berks, facilitated transport of the items to Lisa Weaver, healthy community program associate and social entrepreneurship specialist, who has a dual reporting role to Penn State Berks and Penn State Health St. Joseph.
Penn State Berks and Penn State Health St. Joseph enjoy a unique collaborative partnership. Through community engagement, the two institutions have joined forces to create a more meaningful impact on the communities they serve, with an emphasis on the City of Reading.