Cooperative Extension Steps Up to Help With COVID-19

The COVID-19 virus closed many businesses and placed a strain on health care providers worldwide creating a high demand for personal protection equipment for health care workers. With such a demand on personal protection equipment, items such as isolation gowns were not available. During this time, the Lewis County Extension Office was contacted by Primary Plus asking if we had anyone that could sew isolation gowns for their 9 offices in Lewis, Mason, Fleming, Bracken, Greenup, Carter, and Boyd Counties. During the same time the Lewis County Health Department was having the same problem of being able to purchase isolation gowns so they ask if Lewis County volunteers could sew isolation gowns for them as well.  

Since all offices for Primary Plus are located in Northeastern Kentucky, an e-mail was sent out to counties that had Master Clothing Volunteers and Homemakers that could sew the isolation gowns.  Agents from Lewis, Greenup, Fleming, Johnson, Bath, Morgan, Bracken, and Robertson Counties said they had volunteers that would sew the gowns. 4-H Agent Sherrill Bentley, FCS Agent Mandi Broderick, and ANR Agent Philip Konopka acted as coordinators with Primary Plus, the other extension offices, the Lewis County Master Clothing Volunteers and other volunteers from Lewis County. Agents in the other counties acted as coordinators with their volunteers. 

Primary Plus and the Health Department provided the fabric and other supplies to make the gowns. Since the patterns were so long a continuous printer was also needed, Trace Creek Construction printed and donated 40 patterns so each seamstress would have their own pattern. 

A total of 261 gowns have been completed with 41 gowns going to the Lewis County Health Department and 220 going to Primary Plus. There are still 5 gowns in the making so when all are completed there will be 266 gowns that were provided by the volunteers in Eastern Kentucky. Overall there was a total of 36 individuals involved with this project with each gown taking approximately 3 hours to prepare. By the project’s completion roughly 33 days of around the clock sewing were contributed by volunteers to complete this project. The estimated total worth of the project totals in at $17,699.64. By providing the gowns to Primary Plus and the Health Department it has made it possible for them to provide their workers with isolation gowns which helps protect them from getting sick and enables them to continue to treat those that are sick.

As a thank you Primary Plus has donated $2500 to the Lewis County Homemakers to be used for future sewing projects. This donation is greatly appreciated and will be put to good use in the county.