NE Oklahoma Organizations Step Up To Help Hospitals With Equipment

Organizations across Green Country are stepping up to help hospitals and first-responders deal with a shortage of masks and other protective equipment. Muskogee County EMS and Tulsa Community College say they're doing what they can to keep the people we count on safe.

TCC Metro Campus Provost Angela Sivadon was a nurse for 20 years. She said healthcare workers need proper equipment to keep them safe so that they can take care of their patients.

"They keep going back for that 12-hour shift and are going to stay over two more hours because the need is there," said Sivadon.

This is why she and others at Tulsa Community College decided to help.

"It was just the right thing to do, so we did it," said Sivadon.

Sivadon said since TCC transitioned to remote learning, much of the equipment used in their health science and nursing programs was not being used.

So, they decided to donate the gear to hospitals across Tulsa.

"We probably donated about 100 cases of gloves, probably 300 boxes of masks and maybe approximately 300 gowns to the four main institutions here in town so that they would be able to continue to keep themselves as safe," said Sivadon.

In Muskogee County, Muskogee County EMS said they gave some masks to the police department, emergency management and to some firefighters

"It’s like we are siblings. We protect each other. No one stands alone; we are all there together, " said Trishia German, the public information officer for Muskogee County EMS.

Oklahoma State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister is calling on schools across the state to donate masks, hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes to hospitals.

Back in Tulsa, Sivadon said, she wants health care workers to know they are not forgotten.

"We see you. We see what you are doing, and we appreciate it. We know without people like them this thing would be a whole bigger mess," said Sivadon.

St. Francis Health System released this statement:

From donations of personal protective equipment including N-95 masks, surgical masks and impermeable gowns to the masks being made by individuals at home, Saint Francis Health System thanks the community for their generosity to help healthcare staff in our region. You are caring for us, like we always strive to care for you. On behalf of the women and men on the front lines of patient care, we are sincerely grateful for your support and prayers.

Xavier Villarreal the CEO of Hillcrest Medical Center said, "Hillcrest Medical Center extends a heartfelt thank you to Tulsa Community College for its in-kind donation of masks, gowns and gloves yesterday at a time when our common mission to serve those in Green Country could not be clearer. We appreciate TCC’s incredibly kind gesture as we work together to help our friends and neighbors who need us most at this time."