Howard Community College recently donated more than 2,300 pieces of personal protective equipment to the Howard County Office of Emergency Management to help protect medical professionals during the coronavirus health emergency.

The supplies — including N95 masks, two transport ventilators, procedure masks, surgical gowns, isolation gowns, shoe covers, bouffant caps and disposable lab coats — were distributed to Howard County General Hospital, area senior care facilities and a local dialysis center, according to the college.

The donations were pulled from existing equipment in the college’s Health Sciences Division. The supplies came from several HCC programs, including nursing, dental hygiene, medical laboratory technician, surgical technology and the emergency medical technician program.

“Our equipment is lying dormant since our classes have been moved online,” Georgene Butler, dean of the Health Sciences Division and a nursing professor, said in a statement

“While we’re not in session, the best place for this equipment to be is with the people who need it the most.”

On Thursday, the Howard County Public School System donated more than 29,000 pairs of surgical gloves and 2,600 surgical masks to the Howard County Health Department. The supplies, used in science classrooms, were pulled from storage.

Last month, the school system donated 60,000 pairs of surgical gloves and 5,800 surgical masks to the county health department. The supplies were distributed by the health department to local hospitals and medical providers.

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