Honda of America Mfg. representatives Thursday delivered two pallets of donated personal protective equipment (PPE) to Mary Rutan Hospital to assist area medical professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Donated items included face masks, shields, goggles, safety glasses, gloves and coveralls. The local donation represents an effort across Honda of North America facilities to inventory its stocks of PPE and donate items in support of front line health care workers.
“In these challenging times, Honda continues to support our local communities,” Tom Shoupe, Honda of America Mfg. executive vice president said. “We’re thankful for these brave health care heroes and hope they remain safe with our donation of Personal Protective Equipment.”
Tammy Allison, Mary Rutan Hospital vice president of community health, said Honda of America Mfg. has been a long-time community partner and this week’s donation of vital PPE equipment is crucial to the hospital’s supply.
“Once again, the local the Honda companies come together in support of Mary Rutan Hospital and Logan County residents. This generous donation of PPE will assist greatly in the care, health and safety of those we care for and the MRH staff during this critical time in our community and our nation.
“We express our sincere gratitude to Honda, Honda R & D, Honda Transmission and their associates for this life-saving gift.”
Mary Rutan Hospital also is continuing its collection drive of PPE to provide the in-demand materials to first responders and health care professionals.
The following new or unused supplies are currently being collected: gloves, masks, digital thermometers, goggles, face shields, N95 Masks, gowns; and hand sanitizer.
Items may be dropped off between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at the main entrance of Mary Rutan Hospital’s Logan View location at 110 Dowell Avenue in Bellefontaine. Organizers ask that items are bagged or boxed for easy drop-off.
In addition to PPE donations, Honda of America announced its pledge earlier this week to donate $1 million to community organizations that address food insecurity throughout North America. Also during the COVID-19 crisis, the company is deploying 3-D printers to manufacture visors for protective face shields to be used by medical providers, along with investigating the ability to meet critical manufacturing needs related to medical equipment.