In response to the many needs among our health care workers, fire, EMS and police officials during this difficult time, Wichita State University President Jay Golden put out a call to action on Friday, March 20, to every WSU and WSU Tech employee or department able to donate personal protective equipment (PPE).
Any company or member of the community who would also like to support this effort is encouraged to make a donation to Wichita State as the university coordinates this on-going effort.
The first donation drop-off will be 1 p.m. Monday, March 23, curbside in front of WSU's Marcus Welcome Center. Media are welcome to attend for photos or videos.
This initiative comes as a response to community partners, including the major hospitals, fire and law enforcement agencies, asking Wichita State University for donations of any PPE, including N-95 respirator masks, surgical masks, Latex gloves, surgical gowns and protective face shields.
Rob Gerlach, Wichita State director of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer, is leading this important outreach effort to deploy university resources in response to community COVID-19 needs, beginning with health care workers, fire, EMS and law enforcement.
If you have ideas or resources to contribute, contact Rob, rob.gerlach@wichita.edu. For this initiative to have measurable success, we need widespread involvement.
After the university gathers up the PPE, we will work on appropriately distributing it to community partners.
Jeremy Patterson, the university’s interim executive director for Innovation and New Ventures, has also been in conversations with KU Med Wichita and other local hospitals. The university is also taking advantage of Wichita State’s unique innovation and research capabilities, including 3D printing technologies, manufacturing prototyping and digital sciences, to help during this time of crisis.
In addition, through this initiative, WSU has been working closely with the GoCreate, a Koch collaborative, makerspace to start creating masks.
“Things are changing rapidly, and WSU will adapt to do all that we can for the greater good,” said Dr. Golden.
Wichita State is distinctive for opening pathways to applied learning, applied research and career opportunities, alongside unsurpassed classroom, laboratory and online education. The university's beautiful 330-acre main campus is a supportive, rapidly expanding learn-work-live-play environment, where students gain knowledge and credentials to prepare for fulfilling lives and careers. Students enjoy a wide selection of day, evening and summer courses in more than 200 areas of study at the main campus and other locations throughout the metro area and online. WSU's approximately 16,000 students come from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 other countries. Wichita State's Innovation Campus is an interconnected community of partnership buildings, laboratories and mixed-use areas where students, faculty, staff, entrepreneurs and businesses have access to the university's vast resources and technology. For more information, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/wichitastate and Facebook at www.facebook.com/wichita.state.