MASKS NEEDED: Request from The Kenney

| Coronavirus | How to help | The Kenney | West Seattle news

Anyone have masks you haven’t donated yet? New request just in:

Hello, West Seattle Neighbors,

My name is Charlie Austin and I work with the activities department here at the Kenney Home on Fauntleroy Way SW, just north of Lincoln Park.

We are in dire need of N95 masks (or any cloth Masks) for our nursing staff here at the Kenney as well as gloves and PPE and are looking to the community to see if anyone has this equipment that they would be willing to donate to us. We have been working very hard to maintain the health of our residents and so far have been completely successful in keeping COVID-19 outside our doors. But in order to continue this level of safety for those living here we need to have access to masks, in particular, which are running in short supply.

The Kenney has been a West Seattle mainstay since 1907 when the Seattle city fathers established us. Many of you know us firsthand. Your grandparents and great-grandparents may have retired here.

Please help us continue to keep them safe and healthy. If you have anything that you would be willing to donate to us, we would be ever so appreciative. Simply bring them to The Kenney, 7125 Fauntleroy Way SW. We have a circle drive at that address which drives right up to our front door. I, or one of our employees will greet you there and bring the donations inside to make sure we stay C-19 free.

Thank you very much for your help in this stressful time and for helping us keep your parents and grandparents safe.

With much gratitude,

Charlie Austin
The Kenney Home
West Seattle

J March 25, 2020 (12:18 pm)

Is it ok if they’re already opened, or do they need to be sealed boxes?

LP March 27, 2020 (9:25 pm)

If you find anywhere to donate unused gloves in opened boxes, please let us know!

Momkat March 25, 2020 (1:10 pm)

Do we need to drop off or would someone be willing to pick up?

Margaret March 25, 2020 (9:19 pm)

If you don’t have a means of transportation I can happily pick up from you and drop off to the Kenney.

Also John March 25, 2020 (1:12 pm)

Have you reached out to the Seattle Mask Brigade? They’ve been collecting them and distributing.

RJB March 25, 2020 (1:31 pm)

Try westseattlecovid.recovers.org

Concerned healthcare worker March 25, 2020 (1:39 pm)

Please donate to hospitals first. They are on the frontlines right now, not the Kenney. By all means give to whom you desire but please educate yourselves and donate to the facilities that need the masks the most. If there are no covid19 cases at the Kenney and they are isolating residents to their rooms, there is no need for masks. The hospitals are dealing with sick, positive cases that need masks. I don’t want this to come across heartless but the Kenney needs to go through the correct measures that the Department of Health is asking them to follow. If they needs masks, they need to ask DOH just like the rest of the facilities here in west Seattle. I work in a SNF here in west Seattle. The hospitals are relying on us to take their sick patients so they can open beds for those who need hospital care. If anyone should be asking for masks, it should be the SNFs in west Seattle.

Save Our Elders March 29, 2020 (9:49 pm)

Actually it does come off heartless or at least short sighted. Anyone with an elderly parent or grandparent in an assisted living or SNF knows that staff go home every night, as well as many staff work in multiple facilities potentially to bring virus from. We saw what happened at Life Care. The elderly are dying first. I support trying to keep them safe as they are utterly defenseless, 100% limited in their options to save themselves.

Joe March 25, 2020 (2:11 pm)

If you have used N95 masks Stanford researchers confirm they can be sterilized and
reused with virtually no loss of filtration efficiency by leaving in oven for
30 mins at 70C / 158F or steaming them over boiling water for 10 minutes.

https://iheartintelligence.com/stanford-researchers-n95-masks-sterilized-reused-low-temperature-heating/

Anonymous March 25, 2020 (3:06 pm)

Actually, this is what Dr. Chu says about the research:
“Please do not heat your masks in a home oven! Do not use anything in your home to disinfect contaminated equipment.

Our reports do not advocate or advise on practices and suggest that you strictly adhere to your hospital’s policies and procedures.”

Source: https://twitter.com/larrychu/status/1242875622101110784

Also, here is the link to the Stanford source:
https://aim.stanford.edu/covid-19-evidence-service/

savoirfaire March 25, 2020 (3:21 pm)

I don’t know whether the cloth masks this group are sewing would be suitable for the Kenney’s needs, but it could be worth getting in touch with them:https://www.facebook.com/groups/2559223211033116/I'd be willing to bet the Kenney Foundation could point some volunteers and/or donors in their direction to help with the effort.