The University of Evansville’s Health Science programs have donated personal protection equipment (PPE) to support the efforts of healthcare workers during the coronavirus outbreak.
“Local hospitals, Ascension St. Vincent and Deaconess locations including Encompass Health, Gateway, and Midtown reached out to us to see if we had some extra equipment we could donate, and of course we responded as quickly as possible to share what we have to help keep those front-line healthcare workers safe,” said Jerrilee LaMar, chair and White Family Endowed Professor of UE’s Dunigan Family School of Nursing.
Departments that donated equipment include the School of Nursing, Physician Assistant Science, and the Doctor of Physical Therapy programs. Donated equipment includes six boxes of face masks, 100 isolation gowns, more than 100 boxes of exam and surgical gloves.
These items are typically used by University of Evansville’s health science students as they learn and practice skills in laboratories like the Dunigan Family Nursing Lab on UE’s campus or the Stone Family Center for Health Sciences in downtown Evansville. During their course of study, students engage in real-life simulations and use actual healthcare equipment. Like other institutions, the University’s in-person classes have been cancelled for the remainder of the spring semester, although students are still actively engaged in online coursework. This donation allows our health education programs the opportunity to assist their community partners in their time of need.
“We are proud to partner with our local hospitals to give our health science students high level experience in their respective fields,” said Mary Kessler, dean of UE’s College of Education and Health Sciences. “In times of need, we are honored to be able to help their efforts in any way we can.”
