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 District 1, 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 acted as a coordinator with Primary Plus and the other extension offices on the efforts for making the gowns.   Agents Sherrill Bentley and Philip Konopka coordinated efforts with 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 needed, Trace Creek Construction had one and printed 40 patterns so each seamstress would have their own pattern.   A total of 251 gowns have been completed with 31 gowns going to the Health Department and 220 going to Primary Plus.  There are still 15 gowns in the making so when all are completed there will be 266 gowns that were provided by the Homemakers in District 1.  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 protects them from getting sick and enables them to continue to treat those that are sick.