March 28, 2024

Quilters to the rescue

As healthcare and emergency professionals face an potential shortage of PPEs, area quilters turn to their sewing machines to assist

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An army of people across the country have stepped up to create a secondary line of defense against COVID-19.

Thousands of quilters, sewists and seamstresses are stitching faces masks to help shield doctors, nurses and many others against the corona virus. While Greater Regional Health is not facing a shortage of personal protective equipment such as N95 surgical masks, the hand-sewn protective masks are an option hospital staff would like to have on hand.

On Friday, a handful of women – Cinda Long, Barb Hudson, Diane Ide and Lucy Hyde – were busy cutting surgical fabric at American Home Design Center packaging kits for volunteers to sew at home. Long said the a number of area quilters saw the trend growing and asked how they could help. After Long was contacted by Suszanne Carlson, CWOCN, and Dr. Amy McFarland at GRH, a plan quickly came together.

“Amy gave me a prototype of what she said she wanted and Barb Parrish went home and actually made one that was sort of based on one we had been making out of fabric. So then, she told me what she had done different and I kind of wrote the directions and gave them to Diane who made them legit,” said Long.

Long said surgical fabric typically draped over patients during surgery was provided by the hospital to make the kits.

“We’re putting a double layer of the surgical fabric and pleating it and putting ties on them,” said Long. “And we’re putting wire in the top of them so they can form them to the bridge of their nose.”

While it take a considerable amount of labor to construct the masks on domestic sewing machines, those assembling them can be assured they are not single-use. The hospital will be using a ultraviolet light machine to sanitize the masks.

For individuals wondering if masks made of cloth could be used, Long said there is a need for those, as well.

“The ones we have made out of fabric we have taken to Jo Duckworth ... The cloth ones are getting used as well. They will give them to the Southern Iowa Trolley drivers , they will give them to the fireman, they will give them to our emergency management team ... there are plenty second line of defense people that need a little protection and those work well. There are a couple patterns out there and those work just fine,” she said.

In a press release from Greater Regional Health, it announced it would accept hand sewn masks in an effort to keep patients, staff and the community healthy.

“The safety of our patients and staff is our top priority,” the release said.

Greater Regional Health has released instructions to create masks on its website at www.greaterregional.org. The instructions can be found by clicking on the "COVID-19" menu button on the upper right of the screen, and then by clicking "How you can help" on the left menu bar.

If you do have leftover PPE (disposable masks, N95 masks, gowns or face shields), please call Greater Regional at 641-782-7091 and ask for the Purchasing Department for delivery instructions. In the meantime, Greater Regional Health requests the public to continue to practice social distancing and staying home whenever possible.