Donations Needed, First Responders Face Shortage of Equipment

Hennepin County have coordinated donation drives asking for protective equipment for our first responders and health professionals. 

Hennepin County staff wait to pick up supplies in Plymouth.

Due to the novel coronavirus, healthcare workers across the nation are facing a shortage of supplies. 

Hennepin County Emergency Management Director Eric Wagge said priority items needed include:

• Protective face wear – N95 or N100 respirators, PAPRs and surgical masks
• Nitrile gloves
• Tyvek coveralls
• Tyvek foot covers
• Eye protection (wrap arounds or chemical splash)

Waage said protecting the workers will help extend their amount of work.

“The strategic resources are not the mask or protective gear but it’s the workers. It’s the healthcare workers, first responders, the people that are going to help you out,” Waage said. “We want to protect them because if you become sick, you want a real responder, you want a real healthcare worker that’s helping you out.” 

Supplies collected in Plymouth at Hennepin County Drop-off site.

Drop off sites run between 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. daily.

Hennepin County 
Department of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation
3000 North Second Street
Minneapolis, MN 55441

Adult Correctional Facility
1145 Shenandoah Lane North,
Plymouth, MN 55447

Southdale Library
7001 York Ave. South 
Edina, MN 55435

Click here for more stories on the novel coronavirus impact.

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