OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City-based furniture retailer Mathis Brothers produced and donated a supply of cloth face masks for OU Medicine and the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.
The masks will be given to visitors, patients and healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to officials with OU Medicine.
Mathis Brothers used its mattress factory to design the masks.
“We are very grateful to Mathis Brothers for this generous donation and the innovative use of their factory equipment to create face masks,” said OU Medical Center President Kris Gose. “Our community and state always rally around those in need when a crisis occurs.”
Officials say personal protective equipment like face masks are critical because virus droplets remain airborne after an infected person coughs or sneezes.
“We anticipate giving the masks donated by Mathis Brothers first to OU Medicine visitors and patients, whether they are at one of our clinics for a doctor’s appointment or have been admitted to the hospital. This will provide them with another layer of protection,” said Linda Salinas, M.D., epidemiologist for OU Medical Center. “Our healthcare providers can also wear the masks over their N95 masks, which provides additional safety and helps to extend the life of the N95 masks. Because our response to the pandemic is growing and changing, we are grateful to have the extra masks to use as the situation requires.”
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