National Nurses United

4 N A T I O N A L N U R S E W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G A P R I L | M AY | J U N E 2 0 2 0 MINNESOTA M innesota Nurses Association Nurses called on Minnesotans to help with the drastic shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) during COVID-19, and the commu- nity came together to deliver. Soon after Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed the executive order declaring a Peace Time Emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the MNA office closed to keep employees safe, MNA nurses and staff began brainstorming ways to help nurses during this unprecedented crisis. "I was working from home, talking to other nurses on the phone or computer, try- ing my best to help and give them advice to stay safe," said Julie Anderson, a nurse and MNA organizer. "I was feeling utterly useless as a nurse while my colleagues were on the front lines facing this disease without proper protection." Within 24 hours of deciding to move for- ward with the idea, MNA had partnered with the State Emergency Operations Cen- ter to collect the masks, announced the donation drive to the public and the news media, and started collecting items on Sat- urday, March 21. "Every mask collected means a nurse will be less afraid to go home to their fami- lies at night," said MNA President Mary Turner, RN in the announcement. "Reusing masks is potentially dangerous for both nurses and patients. And if we can't keep nurses safe, we won't have nurses to care for patients." Donations began to pour in during the first hour of the mask drive. They ranged from community members dropping off a few masks they had in their basements for home improvement projects to businesses donating several boxes of equipment. Rep. Mike Howard (DFL-Richfield) stopped by to donate masks and show his support on the first day of the donation drive. "I've heard from nurses in my district and across the state," he said. "They are showing up every single day and serving their commu- nity, and we need to support them." The drive continued for the next five days, before ending early due to the governor's stay- at-home order. Each day, Minnesotans donated whatever they could to help out nurses. Con- struction companies and other building trades organizations also stepped up, donating tens of thousands of masks to the cause. What started with N95 masks then expanded to other medical supplies and PPE including surgical masks, respirators, scrubs, face shields, gloves, Tyvek suits, paper lunch bags to store masks in when nurses are forced to reuse them multiple times, hair bonnets, shoe covers, sanitizing wipes, bleach, and more. "We're extremely grateful for everything you guys are doing on the frontlines," said one Minnesotan who stopped by to drop off N95 masks. "This is just one little part that we can all do to get critical resources where they're needed right now." In just under a week, Min- nesotans banded together and donated over 80,000 N95 masks alone. Teamsters Local 120 also donated their time and truck to the cause, rolling in to help transport the dona- tions from the MNA offices to the State Emergency Operations Center. The state is now handling distribution, using data from all health care facilities across Minnesota. They have set up a web site to continue to receive and distribute supplies and allows facilities like hospitals, nursing homes, and other health care facilities to request sup- plies: https://mn.gov/ppe. To see data on what has been collected and distributed so far, visit https://mn.gov/covid19/ data/response.jsp. After all the supplies were delivered, Anderson reflected on the experience. "I have been shocked and appalled at our health care system's and our country's lack of preparedness for this event," she said. "But being part of this mask drive brought back my faith in humanity."— Amber Smigiel NEWS BRIEFS Minnesotans step up to support nurses by donating PPE

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