UMass Amherst Donates PPE Equipment to
Loomis Lakeside at Reeds Landing Skilled Nursing
Donation highlights 12 years of collaboration with Loomis
Springfield—University of Massachusetts Amherst has donated 300 face shields to the Skilled Nursing Center at Loomis Lakeside at Reeds Landing. The face shields were developed by UMass researchers, engineers, nurses and other health care professionals, and comes as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is in very short supply for many nursing facilities in the region, and throughout the country.
Photo Below: Loomis Lakeside at Reeds Landing Assistant Director of Nursing/Infection Preventionist Tomara Meegan, RN (left) and Patty Coughlin, LLRL Director of Nursing (right) carry a box of shields designed and donated by UMass Amherst;
The design created by UMass enables the face shields to be mass-produced quickly by existing manufacturers. The first order placed by the Face Shield COVID-19 Response Team at UMass Amherst produced 80,000 face shields, manufactured by K+K Thermoforming, a company based in Southbridge, Massachusetts.
According to Marge Mantoni, CEO of The Loomis Communities, “During challenging times such as these, we celebrate the spirit of collaboration and cooperation evidenced by the donation of needed face shields to Loomis by the University of Massachusetts. The shields are being immediately employed in the Loomis Lakeside at Reeds Landing Nursing Center by our medical and related staff in the service of our nursing center residents. Many times over the past 12 years The Loomis Communities has collaborated with the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and we welcome this generous gift of face shields as we work together in this time of crisis.” UMass contributed more than $30,000 toward the initial production of face shields and hundreds of volunteer hours spent designing, testing, revising and manufacturing the shields.
Photo Below: a UMass representative holds a box of face shields donated to LLRL’s Skilled Nursing Center.
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About The Loomis Communities:
The Loomis Communities has been a visionary in exceptional senior living throughout the scenic Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts. It was the first organization in the state to open a continuing care retirement community.
With a mission of enriching the lives of older adults, The Loomis Communities offers independent living apartments and cottages, assisted living and skilled nursing care on three campuses in the Pioneer Valley: Applewood in Amherst, Loomis Lakeside at Reeds Landing in Springfield, and Loomis Village in South Hadley.
For more information, call us.
Applewood: 413-253-9833
Loomis Village: 413-588-5102
Loomis Lakeside at Reeds Landing: 413-355-5803
or send us a note through our Contact Us form.
