Skidmore donates additional protective gear to hospital
Editor’s note: This story first appeared on March 24. It has been updated to include additional donations, including 65,500 gloves, hundreds of pairs of goggles and glasses, eight UV lamps, 40 N95 masks, a dozen face shields, cleaning supplies, two dozen disposable filtration units and a vacuum pump on March 27. Skidmore's Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery also donated 10 N95 masks, 100 pairs of shoe covers and 1,000 gloves to the hospital, and the College lent a biosafety cabinet to the hospital on April 9.
Skidmore College has donated truckloads of protective gear, including tens of thousands of gloves, and other supplies to Saratoga Hospital to boost the local community's capacity to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak.
Skidmore employees have been searching through science laboratories, art studios and other facilities in recent days to gather the supplies, which have included more than 85,000 protective gloves, 60 N95 masks, hundreds of pairs of goggles and protective eyewear, disinfectants and other essential items that are currently in short supply due to the coronavirus.
The donations filled two pickup trucks on Saturday, March 21, and three additional carloads on Friday, March 27. All the items are commonly used in college science laboratories and other facilities, and Skidmore had purchased them for use by faculty, staff and students.
"We worked to gather as many supplies as possible. When I reached out to colleagues, many pointed out that they had other items that could also help,” said Kara Cetto Bales, senior instructor in chemistry and associate director of environmental health and safety, who coordinated the collection efforts at Skidmore in collaboration with faculty and staff across campus. “We continue to be in touch with Saratoga Hospital about other equipment and supplies that may be beneficial.”
Skidmore donated supplies to Saratoga Hospital to help with demand associated with COVID-19.
Saratoga Hospital President and CEO Angelo Calbone welcomed the donations, calling Skidmore “a wonderful partner and neighbor — and an extraordinary asset to the Saratoga region.”
“At a time when resources and time are scarce, Skidmore staff scoured their departments, gathered masks, gloves, goggles, scrubs, lab coats, screening supplies and more, and delivered them to Saratoga Hospital,” he said. “These supplies will protect our staff and patients and help us save lives. There is no better gift, and we could not be more grateful."
Skidmore’s donations have also included gowns, disinfecting wipes, boxes of cleaning and disinfecting spray and hand sanitizer. Skidmore also provided a vacuum pump and two dozen disposable filtration units, which will be used to help with specimen preservation, as well as eight ultraviolet lamps used to sanitize equipment.
In addition, Skidmore's Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery donated 10 N95 masks, 100 pairs of shoe covers and 1,000 gloves to the hospital, and the College lent a biosafety cabinet to the hospital on April 9.
Like many other higher education institutions, Skidmore has switched to remote learning for the remainder of the spring semester.
"We are pleased that Skidmore College was able to donate supplies to Saratoga Hospital. The items were desperately needed and greatly appreciated,” said Patricia Bosen, director of Skidmore’s Health Services. "It's at times like this that we really need to work collaboratively. We're all in this together."
