KU Hospital: Thank you, but we can’t use homemade surgical masks
The University of Kansas Health System can’t accept homemade cloth masks like the ones home sewers are making by the hundreds across the metro area, said Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control, at a media briefing on Wednesday.
“We so appreciate the efforts of people that are trying to rally around us and help,” said chief medical officer Steve Stites.
“The struggle for us with homemade masks, unless they’re made at a biologic grade ... the masks actually don’t help us.
“They may not be impermeable to the secretions or to the virus spread, they can get wet easily and that can set up a (place) where the virus can live.”
People are donating the masks to doctors’ offices, oncology clinics and ambulance services. Facebook groups are fielding more requests than their volunteers can handle.
On Monday, Heart to Heart International began accepting donations of masks — all kinds, including cloth masks — at its headquarters in Lenexa. The nonprofit humanitarian organization has a trailer set up at 11550 Renner Blvd.
Also on Monday, Johnson County’s emergency management team sent out a request for masks.
“As Johnson County continues to respond to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, we are now seeking donated cloth masks to build the supply of personal protective equipment that’s in need,” said the notice, inviting people to drop off masks at the county’s administration building in Olathe.
This story was originally published March 26, 2020 at 5:05 PM.
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