BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Northwest Arkansas Community College (NWACC) Health Professions division is donating 12,000 masks and 9,100 pairs of gloves to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Northwest in Fayetteville and Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas in Rogers.
UAMS and Mercy are in need of masks and gloves for their clinical personnel because of the countrywide shortage due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
NWACC’s Health Professions keeps a large supply of gloves and masks on hand for training purposes. Students within the college’s nursing, respiratory therapy, physical therapy assistant, EMT and paramedic programs are taught to use such supplies for safety reasons. NWACC staff were eager to help the NWA medical community by donating extra gloves and masks not being used by the college.
NWACC Interim Dean of Health Professions Jamin Snarr said the following regarding the donation,
“NWACC has always had a strong Health Professions vision. Its administration and faculty are dedicated to supporting our local community, including our health agencies which are vigorously keeping us safe and healthy. We are truly thankful for our hospitals, fire departments, and EMS agencies who are on the front line combating the coronavirus. Any way we can be of help, we are glad to do it. We are partners in this fight.”
Snarr gathered and issued the gloves and masks at NWACC’s Center for Health Professions building on its Bentonville campus. UAMS picked up approximately 10,000 masks and 2,500 pairs of gloves on March 20th. Mercy will pick up approximately 2,000 masks and 6,600 pairs of gloves on March 21.
