Face mask report 2020:

The population of Johnson County is 22,286 people. Of that 8,847 people are over the age of 50 (KY by the numbers 2018). Forty percent of the population is at high risk for not just contracting covid-19, but also of having detrimental and life threatening symptoms. 

One of the top strategies to prevent the spread of disease was social distancing, washing hands, wearing gloves and facemasks. The facemasks (classified as n95) became difficult to come by. Eleven Extension Homemakers and friends stepped up to the plate to hand make enough masks to cover the front line workers in Johnson County and some to the UK children’s hospital as well. 

Paul B Hall Hospital has over 200 employees, the Health Department has 30, the Mountain Manor Nursing Home has 120, and Venture Home nursing facility has 30 (employees and mobile patients). The group joined Extension Homemakers across the state to help with UK children’s hospital. Over 588 were distributed from this team of workers, the following were the front line recipients: 200 Paul B Hall, MM nursing Home 120, 30 VH nursing home, 13 for 911 dispatchers and 70 to UK children’s hospital (as of May 1, 2020). Each team member also made for the community, their families and others requesting them (we did not include a record of that).

In addition to this, we posted the cdc’s guidelines for making them for yourself and made and distributed 120 t-shirt masks and kits. 

As of May 1, 2020, there were 49 posts, a reach of 5,716, and 575 likes, 745 shares, 57 comments on 5 pages. This is in addition to the county newspaper which has a circulation of over 5,000.