“I can’t go into a hospital room. I can’t take blood. But THIS is something I can do. I know how to do this.” Sue Moss said this recently when asked about participating in a great effort underway in Wright County. Moss and dozens of other people in the area have joined with thousands across the country in making protective face masks to safeguard against COVID-19.
In the last few weeks, as the number COVID-19 cases grew, including in Iowa, it quickly became clear that there would not be enough Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to go around for healthcare workers or others who would need it. A call followed for people and businesses to donate any PPE that they had to hospitals, public health workers, nursing homes and more. Yet even that was proving inadequate given the sheer number of face masks needed.
It is hard to trace the origin of the idea, but instructions for Do-It-Yourself protective face masks soon trickled and then pored onto Facebook and other internet sites. There were dozens of patterns and design options. Jo-Ann Fabric stores even started offering sewers free fabric and material for mask-making. Predictably, sewers in Wright County did not hesitate to the join the cause.
No one is really sure who was the first one in the area to start sewing. Several ladies were working on masks independently as early as a couple weeks ago. But the cooperative effort got a big boost on March 23 when Beth Wilson of Eagle Grove established the Facebook group “Iowans Fighting COVID-19 from Home.” Wilson, who is the elementary school nurse in Eagle Grove, said even before schools were closed, she was concerned about a mask shortage when she and others could only round up ten between all three EG schools.
After schools were closed, Wilson started seeing the mask making efforts from others around her. “I saw different people looking for different supplies like elastic or more material.” That’s when she started the Facebook. group to connect the makers. “From there it just snowballed. People at home really want to help in any way they can,” she added.
Only a week and a half later, the Facebook group has around 90 members from Wright County and beyond working together. Shannon Walker, who has acted as a coordinator, facilitator and delivery person for the group, said that she has been fielding calls from helpful hands all over the area, even outside of Wright County. People are eager to donate, cut, and sew to help the effort, Walker adds.
According to the group leaders, the volunteers are making a couple different kinds of masks. First there are masks designed to cover the official medical grade N-95 masks so they can be used longer. Then there is a pleated type of mask that is similar to a paper surgical mask. These masks are being made with a high thread-count cotton to prevent particles from getting through. In the last week, the makers even started adding vacuum and HEPA filters and flexible nose pieces which will hopefully offer even more protection for wearers. They are also starting to work with protective surgical wrapping for the masks that the hospital has made available.
While neither mask design offers the level of protection of a N-95 masks that the CDC recommends, the DIY masks have been useful throughout the area. Iowa Specialty Hospital Doctor Michael McLoughlin said the masks have been helpful for sparing N-95 masks. “In a lower risk situation, these can work. And they are helping us save the ones we need for critical situations to come.” He adds that the jury is still out on how protective the homemade masks ultimately are, but it makes sense that they’re better than no mask at all.
Wright County Public Health has also made use of the masks. Pam Harklau, Clinical Manager for Public Health, said her staff is using them currently. In fact, they are using lots of them. “We use 115 of them a day because they have to be changed with every patient,” Harklau stated. Early this week, public health got their second batch of masks. She emphasized that she appreciates the efforts of the mask-makers more than she can say. “They have been a lifesaver. It means so much to us. The masks are protecting patients and workers but also our families at home.”
The mask-making effort has also been an important action for the volunteers. Everyone consulted said they are happy to be able to contribute in some way. Walker adds, “It really can help our mental health to help others. It takes our minds off the isolation and gloom and doom.”
And so far, thanks to the remarkable work from all the volunteers, the masks are traveling far and wide. Walker says she has requests for masks from local nursing homes, postal and city workers, and law enforcement. Sewer Monica Staudt has made well over 130 masks at this point and has delivered them to the hospital as well as sending them to family across the country who are in the healthcare field. “As a ‘retired’ nurse and being able to use my sewing skills, I thought it was important to pitch in,” she stated. Staudt now even adds a special poem with each mask.
For now, it doesn’t seem like the sewers and other volunteers are slowing down when it comes to the masks. Wilson says she hopes everyone keeps it up. “If we have more than we need in the end, we can donate them to cancer centers. They won’t go to waste. We would rather have too many than too few.”
Walker encourages others who would like to donate supplies, sew, cut, or volunteer in some way to contact her. She can be reached at 515-851-8487. Donations of cutting boards and wheels, bias tape, furnace filters and vacuum bags (especially HEPA) would be appreciated. People can even drop off donations to the tote outside her home at 411 Central Ave in Clarion or mail supplies to that address.
Other ways to “Help a Neighbor” in Wright County
In addition to mask-making, other efforts are underway in the county to help people in a variety of ways. The Facebook page “Wright County – Help a Neighbor” was formed two weeks ago. It came about with a simple conversation between county supervisor Karl Helgevold and Wright County Economic Development Marketing Specialist Sarah Holmes. They knew that people across the county were eager to lend help to their neighbors. Within just a day or so, dozens of people across the county were volunteering assistance, whether it is delivering groceries or offering extra food.
If people are interested in offering help or are in need of help, you are encouraged to visit the Facebook page. Just search: Wright County – Help a Neighbor. Each Wright County town has its own listing where people provide their contact information if they can help.
If you do not use Facebook and need help, contact Karl Helgevold at 515-851-1344.
