Polk County Health Partners Encourage Community to Wear Homemade Face Cloths in Public Settings
(Des Moines, IA) – The Polk County Medical Coordination Center encourages the public to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) guidance on wearing homemade face cloths in public settings such as the grocery store or pharmacy, where social distancing of 6 feet is difficult to maintain. The use of simple cloth face coverings reduces the spread of the virus and helps people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others. Individuals need to continue to keep 6 feet between yourself and others when in public locations. The cloth face cover is not a substitute for social distancing.
Hospital and healthcare staff who do not provide direct clinical or patient services are now wearing homemade cloth coverings to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The Medical Coordination Center urges all organizations and businesses in our community to follow the same guidance from the CDC to wear homemade face cloths when providing non-medical/clinical services to patrons, stakeholders and the community. Clinical staff/those coming in contact with patients will continue to wear appropriate PPE until we have exhausted the community supply.
The Polk County Medical Coordination Center is requesting your assistance with donations of the following items to help with the COVID-19 public health emergency: safety goggles or other protective eye wear, hand sanitizer, bleach wipes or other sanitizer wipes, and thermometers (oral, ear, or temporal). We can only accept unopened, new items and these are the only items we are accepting at this time. These items will be provided to our medical community and emergency responders in Polk County. If you would like to donate any of these items, we will be accepting donations Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., at River Place, 2309 Euclid Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa. The donation door is located on at the rear of the building on the north side.
The following health systems in the Des Moines Metro are accepting homemade masks. Please follow the IDPH guidelines found here.
Broadlawns Medical Center: We are graciously collecting homemade masks. Please follow the IDPH guidelines listed above. If you have already made masks using another pattern, that's OK, we’ll accept those as well. Kindly enclose completed masks in a zip lock plastic bag or within a closed plastic box. We will launder them prior to use so there is no need to wash the masks prior to delivering them. To coordinate a delivery of masks, please email foundation@broadlawns.org.
The Iowa Clinic: Are currently accepting homemade IDPH approved face shields and cloth masks, at our West Lakes location (5950 University Ave – West Des Moines). Donations may be dropped off at the main desk at Entrance #3 (east side) Monday-Friday from 11a.m. to 1p.m.
MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center: Is accepting donations of homemade face masks. Please follow the IDPH guidelines listed above. Donations may be dropped off in blue bins at the main / north entrance of the campus, Monday-Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Primary Health Care: is accepting homemade cloth face coverings as well as face shields. We ask that they are sewn/constructed via IDPH guidelines. Donations can be dropped at 1200 University Avenue #200. We appreciate the community coming together to support Metro area health systems in this way.
UnityPoint Health: A donation station has been set up inside the parking ramp on Level 4 at the Iowa Methodist Medical Center campus (use the handicap entrance) and will be open Monday-Friday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. For information on the supplies currently needed at UPH-DM please visit: www.unitypoint.org/desmoines/covid-19-help
For COVID-19 information, please visit the Polk County Health Department’s COVID-19 website.