Palm Beach State College is donating medical supplies to area hospitals to assist with treating patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Staff from Wellington Regional Medical Center, one of the college’s 15 affiliate hospitals, picked up hundreds of surgical masks, gloves, gowns, hand sanitizers and other personal protective equipment, from the Lake Worth campus on Friday, April 3. Plans are underway to also donate to Tenant Healthcare for its hospitals. The supplies are normally used by PBSC’s health care programs, but the college has moved to remote instruction.
“The hospitals do so much for us and our students. Some of them have been engaged with us since the inception of our programs,” said Edward Willey, dean of health sciences, who is coordinating distribution of the items. “They hire many of our graduates into their workforce. It is great to be able to help them during this crisis.”
PBSC began remote instruction March 23 for the spring term, and this week administrators decided to continue remote instruction through the end of the summer. Willey said the supplies will be restocked for the fall term.
In addition to donating the medical supplies, Willey said the college remains in talks with the hospitals and stands ready to loan its seven ventilators to the hospitals if needed.
As of earlier today, the state had 9,585 coronavirus cases, including 337 non-Florida residents who tested positive in the state, according to the Florida Department of Health. Nineteen people who tested positive have died.
