To assist local medical providers in the fight against COVID-19, Monroe County Community College has donated or loaned important preventive supplies and life-saving medical equipment to area hospitals.
“I was contacted by my peers who serve on the Board of Directors of ProMedica Monroe Regional Hospital in Monroe earlier this week to assist in securing any available supplies,” said Suzanne M. Wetzel, vice president of administration. “With two large healthcare-focused programs -- Nursing and Respiratory Therapy -- and our emphasis on hands-on training for students in these and other programs that use lab equipment, we did, in fact, have many vital supplies and equipment we were able to contribute.”
Lori Biggs, nursing program coordinator, facilitated the support effort with ProMedica Monroe and Beaumont Health System with Dr. Kimberly Lindquist, dean of health sciences and director of nursing program.
According to Biggs, MCCC’s registered nursing program supplied ProMedica Monroe with more than 50 isolation gowns, 2,100 gloves, 100 face masks, 30 face masks with shields and 10 pairs of goggles.
Dozens of personal protection kits and other items such as those being sent to ProMedica Monroe are also being distributed to Beaumont Health System, said Holly Boylan, associate professor of nursing.
Biggs said that 10,000 gloves are heading to Beaumont.
“We are getting alumni involved, too,” Boylan said. “My daughter, Kayley, is a registered nurse at Beaumont’s facility in Trenton and an MCCC RN program graduate. She will be making the delivery of the supplies and equipment on the college’s behalf.”
Dr. Ijaz Ahmed, director of MCCC’s Respiratory Therapy program, worked with Henry Ford Health System to loan the system two ventilators. He said that the program has committed to providing a breathing machine and other respiratory lab equipment to the University of Michigan’s University Hospital, should the need arise.
Not only are the faculty and staff of the Health Sciences Division programs participating, the college’s Applied Science and Engineering Technology Division is donating the following items for use by area hospital personnel, said Parmeshwar Coomar, the division dean: six dozen safety goggles from the Product and Process Technology program; 29 regular safety glasses and nine over-prescription safety glasses from the Welding Technology program, and 200 latex gloves,14 regular safety glasses and 14 over-prescription safety glasses from the Automotive Service and Technology programs.
Coomar added that his team is actively looking at making masks, straps and shields on the college’s rapid prototyping machines.
The MCCC Bookstore also provided safety glasses and goggles that were donated to ProMedica Monroe.
“We are all very proud of the effort of these individuals, who are working together and efficiently making these resources available to our area’s healthcare providers,” said Dr. Kojo Quartey, president of MCCC. “This is a critical period in the fight to defeat this pandemic and for all of us to come together to support one another.”
About Monroe County Community College
Founded in 1964, Monroe County Community College is a public, two-year institution supported by tax monies from Monroe County, educational funds from the State of Michigan and student tuition. The college’s mission is to enrich lives in our community by providing opportunity through student-focused, affordable, quality higher education and other learning experiences. The Main Campus is located at 1555 South Raisinville Road, Monroe, Mich., 48161, with easy access to Toledo and Detroit. The Whitman Center is located in Temperance, Mich., 48182, near the Ohio-Michigan Border. Detailed information about MCCC is available at www.monroeccc.edu.