With financial gifts, restaurant-provided meals for staff, donations of personal protective equipment, signs of appreciation and more, Mount Nittany Health has experienced a flood of support from the local community since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
‘It’s been humbling and gratifying for every single person who works here to receive so many gestures of thanks, support and appreciation from the community,’ Kathleen Rhine, Mount Nittany president and CEO, said in an interview on Friday. ‘I think every day we know what we do here is important to people and the community, and at a time like this, in some ways, that’s just all magnified.’
The State College-based community health system has, like providers around the country, undertaken sweeping changes at both the medical center and its outpatient practices, implementing new safety protocols, developing testing programs and preparing for patients who need treatment for the novel coronavirus.
Staff at Mount Nittany have taken on a swift-moving adaptation that’s changed practically everything, and community members and businesses have come through to support them in it, Rhine said.
‘Our staff are amazing and the things we’ve had to do and change to respond, almost everything is different than it used to be,’ she said. ‘That’s been amazing. Knowing it’s important to the community and that they are with us and they want to help has been really gratifying even in the hardest of times.’
COVID-19 Response Fund
Inspired by an outpouring of support, Mount Nittany Health Foundation established in April a COVID-19 Response Fund to be used for pandemic-related needs, such as testing, medication, medical supplies and equipment, protective equipment and staff support.
‘We’ve deliberately made the fund as flexible as we can because the needs are going to evolve. We know that,’ said Simon Corby, executive director of the foundation. ‘We’ve targeted anything that’s an eventuality that arises from this crisis.’
As of last week, the fund had received $30,000 in gifts made online and by mail.
But that is not the only way supporters have given financially. Mount Nittany Health holds an annual appeal each March in conjunction with the National Doctors’ Day. This year’s appeal raise more than $30,000.
‘This year’s Doctors’ Day was one of our most successful ever,’ Corby said. ‘So in total it was comfortably over $60,000 between the COVID-19 response fund and the Doctors’ Day appeal.’
To donate to the COVID-19 fund, visit foundation.mountnittany.org/give.
PPE Donations
The need for personal protective equipment for health care providers nationally as COVID-19 spread has been well-documented, with some states and hospitals struggling to keep up their needed supplies of items such as masks, face shields and respirators.
Centre County community members have sought to do their part to ensure local health care providers are well equipped, from small donations from households that had masks on hand, to businesses and researchers innovating solutions, to large donations of thousands of PPE items.
‘It is touching to see small donations from people that happen to have masks because maybe they are a crafter, or have a construction company or people that just have a few and they wanted to be sure they went to people who could use them, all the way up to very large donations of PPE,’ Rhine said. ‘It’s another sign of how people are doing what they can and the desire people have to help is really overwhelming.’
Mount Nittany recently received a donation of 10,000 pieces of personal protective equipment from Penn State. The university’s Office of the Senior Vice President of Research coordinated the effort, which supplied powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs), masks, gowns, booties and gloves. Items came from Penn State labs, where researchers took inventory during the time of reduced activity, and the PAPRs were donated to the university by 3M.
The research office also coordinated donations to Penn State University Health Services, Penn State Health Hershey Medical Center and Penn State Health St. Joseph Medical Center.
“We are proud to play a part in supporting the courageous and committed medical professionals who are serving our faculty, staff, students and so many of our friends and neighbors,” Penn State President Eric Barron said in a statement. “This is one way we can demonstrate that we truly are one community, and we are in this together.”
Corby said the donation allowed Mount Nittany Health to fully use its stock of PPE acquired through regular supply chains without having to ration it.
‘We’ve been very fortunate with that level of community support,’ Corby said.
Penn State Applied Research Lab engineers also coordinated the design and production of face shields using 3D printers, with shields then donated to Mount Nittany Health. The Penn State team led by engineer Charles Tricou found 3D-printing an entire shield at scale wasn’t feasible, so instead designed a 3D-printed head assembly that could be used with sheet stock.
“The ability to 3D-print the headband enabled us to rapidly design and evaluate conventional, low-cost, high-production rate approaches using readily available sheet stock to meet the critical need for face shields,” Tricou said in a Penn State news release in March.
Corby said the shields were reviewed and approved for use by Associate Chief Medical Officer Dr. Upendra Thaker and Mount Nittany Health’s PPE task force.
Tzero, a State College company that develops sensors for the brewing industry, also found an innovative way to help.
‘They decided, taking it on themselves, to create surgical masks using material they had on hand that is usually used for cleaning up spills in industrial settings,’ Corby said. ‘They laser cut them, sew them together in house and they produced hundreds of supplemental surgical masks that we’ve been able to use to supplement our regularly acquired supply chain materials.’
PPE stocks are monitored daily and Corby said that to this point Mount Nittany’s supply has not been affected by an order by Gov. Tom Wolf in April allowing the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency to commandeer supplies and reallocate them to hospitals with urgent need.
A dedicated supply chain staff is focused on maintaining the supplies, Corby said, and evaluates what future needs may be.
‘We have managed to reestablish and replenish our supply chain, and right now we’re doing pretty well, but we’re very cautiously anticipating what may come down the road,’ he said.
For information about PPE and other items being accepted for donation, visit foundation.mountnittany.org.
Penn State donated thousands of PPE items to Mount Nittany Health. Photo provided by Penn State
Meals Boost Morale
More than 50 area restaurants to date have donated free meals for Mount Nittany staff members, Corby said. Executive chef Craig Hamilton, who directs all nutrition and culinary services, coordinates food donations to ensure safety.
‘They provide a huge boost for morale for our staff,’ Corby said.
State College residents Karen Walker and Heddy Kervandjian also organized a GoFundMe campaign to help local restaurants during COVID-19 service restrictions and feed staff at Mount Nittany Medical Center and first responders. Funds are used to pay participating restaurants to provide the meals. The campaign has so far raised more than $34,000.
‘The response from everyone involved in this project has been overwhelmingly positive,’ Walker wrote in the May issue of Town&Gown. ‘We have received emotional notes of gratitude from nurses and physicians at Mount Nittany Medical Center. Restaurant owners have offered us discounts and matching donations. Other local businesses such as Designer’s Studio and J. Stephens Salon and Spa are donating a portion of their sales to our cause. Friends and strangers alike have donated amounts ranging from $5 to $1,000 to our GoFundMe account – and we appreciate every penny.’
Donations can be made at gofundme.com/f/feeding-our-heroes-2020. For information about making food donations directly to the medical center, visit foundation.mountnittany.org.
Corby said that the local Dunkin’ franchise also has donated gift cards for every staff member.
‘Those are just really nice signs of support that boost morale and energy of our staff,’ he said. ‘We’re very touched by that kind of gesture of support.’
A Mount Nittany Medical Center employee stands next to donations of pizza from Snap Custom Pizza, one of more than 50 area restaurants to donate meals to the hospital during the pandemic. Photo provided by Mount Nittany Health.
Signs of Support
Anyone who has entered the Mount Nittany Medical Center campus in the past month has no doubt seen the sign along the roadway stating ‘We Are… Grateful.’
Nick Spicer is a Centre County native and a local architect who also creates metal art. The Penn State grad came up with the idea with friends and made the cut-metal sign as a message of thanks, incorporating the familiar ‘We are…’ to show unity.
“We wanted to say thank you to all the staff, nurses and doctors at Mount Nittany Medical,” Spicer said, “and just give them a little something to help them get through their day.”
Rhine said the sign is a daily reminder to hospital staff of the support they have from the community.
‘It is really touching,’ she said. ‘Every shift, every time we come by and see that, it’s just a reminder of our community’s support for us, our community’s identity, the hope that’s in our community and the appreciation for what we do.’
She also noted that messages of support are seen on sidewalks, lawns and buildings at homes, churches and businesses around the area. Places such as the State College Municipal Building, Bryce Jordan Center and the medical center itself have been lighted in special colors to honor health care workers and others who are working on the front lines and to keep essential businesses open.
‘These gestures, while we are social distancing and people can’t necessarily thank each other the way they might want to… just reminds you in the thick of it that there are people in this community that are grateful and want to do whatever they can to say thanks,’ Rhine said.
Nick Spicer and his friends came up with the idea to create a sign expressing appreciation for health care workers and place it along the entrance to Mount Nittany Medical Center for staff to see as they enter the campus each day. Photo by Vincent Corso | Centre County Gazette
Here’s to the Heroes
Mount Nittany Health has launched a new website dedicated to thanking its employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. The site allows community members to post notes, images and videos of encouragement and thanks to health care providers and staff.
“We’ve always known that our people are what make Mount Nittany Health such a special place, but it’s more apparent now than ever,’ Rhine said in a statement on Monday. ‘We’re so happy to be able to share your gestures of thanks with our providers, staff and the rest of the community and invite you to let our frontline employees know how much you value their dedication during this unprecedented time.”
To share a message and see what others have posted, go to courageousatheart.org.
Looking Ahead
Rhine said it’s clear that Centre County residents have been doing their part to abide by social distancing measures and other mitigation efforts to flatten the curve of COVID-19 cases.
‘All the things people have done that are sacrifices in many ways have made a big difference,’ she said. ‘Of all the things we are grateful for, we are grateful for that because it makes the biggest difference in terms of allowing those of us who have to be out to be out more safely, and in terms of giving us time to prepare and be ready to get our resources organized for what’s to come. We’re very grateful to people for that and we do want them to know it has made a big difference.’
And as the county begins a gradual reopening, moving to the ‘yellow’ phase on Friday with an easing of some restrictions, continuing to practice those safety measures will help the community and health care staff.
‘As we continue to reopen and think about how to gradually go back to more normal ways of living, I would say that continuing to be mindful of our ability to keep those social distances and do the protective things that matter will go a long way toward being able to continue on the path that we’re on,’ Rhine said.
She added that while the health system has made changes to nearly every aspect of its operations — including visitation restrictions, screening everyone who arrives, masking policies, a dedicated COVID-19 unit at the hospital, remote testing sites and more — it will continue to evolve with the circumstances of the pandemic.
‘We’ve done all the things we know to do to be ready, to be sure that we can continue to be here in the way people count on us,’ Rhine said. ‘We’ll continue to do that as new guidelines develop and we become aware of new best practices. We are absolutely committed to that.’
Corby added that seeing the community support for those efforts has been moving.
‘It’s a wonderful part of being a community-based hospital like we are and a medical service that provides for this great community we live in,’ he said. ‘It’s really been a testament to that. When you’ve been on the front line of this outpouring of generosity, it’s almost overwhelming at times. We’re tremendously grateful.’
