#InThisTogether: 20 MAY 2020

With everything that’s going on during the COVID-19 crisis, we want to share stories about what Cook people are doing during this difficult time. All around the Cook world, we are #InThisTogether, and we would love to hear stories about how you and your coworkers are stepping up to make a difference. If you have a story to share, please email us at BlogEditor@CookMedical.com.

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Building hope from the ground up

Founders of the Bloomington Indiana Fabric Mask Drive share their story

Written by Terrie Nicodemus, a Written Content specialist in Corporate Marketing and Communications

Kelly Clark, doctor of physical therapy and owner of Patient PT, a private clinic, was on a quick shopping trip at JOANN Fabrics and Crafts in Bloomington, Indiana, on March 18. She was determined to get the supplies she needed to make masks for her clinic.

“I knew that as an outpatient provider, it would be difficult to get disposable masks, and I also felt that any available masks should be left to those closer to the front lines of healthcare,” said Kelly.

A chance meeting with Nola Neher Hartman from the Bloomington Quilters Guild, who was also searching for mask supplies at JOANN, was the start of something much bigger, but they didn’t know it at the time. The two chatted and exchanged ideas about making masks and went their separate ways.

“On March 20 on Facebook, I saw Nola’s call for help making masks for a pediatrician’s office. I contacted her, and the next day we began collecting masks together. That first night we had 80 to 100 masks to distribute. We wanted to supply free fabric masks to the community. I enlisted my husband, Badarch (Sod) Sodbayar, to help. He was really not sure what he was getting himself into,” Kelly said with a laugh.

House takeover

“I was washing the masks all evening and drying them all day, and sorting, bagging, and delivering them to people” said Sod, a system administrator specialist in Information Technology for Cook.

While Nola took on the large task of coordinating sewing materials distribution and sewing volunteers, Kelly and Sod were doing everything except sewing the masks. The mask-making project had now become a mask-making mission—the Bloomington Indiana Mask Drive—which was growing larger daily. For the first three weeks, as the numbers of requests for masks and donated masks increased, Kelly was working every day from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm, with Sod’s help. They were washing, sorting, moving masks, doing quality checks, bagging, documenting, creating the website, launching social media announcements, and basically building a nonprofit, mask-making company from the ground up.

“Our mask-making project quickly turned into a much bigger job of figuring out how to make all of this work so it would be sustainable and truly helpful despite ongoing controversy around fabric masks,” explained Kelly. “There were hundreds of decisions made along the way, and so many processes we tried and changed over and over again to get things running smoothly.”

Their home and Kelly’s clinic were becoming temporary warehouses for hundreds of masks on a daily basis. Tables, chairs, and Kelly’s small clinic were overflowing with boxes and bags of masks. They desperately needed help and space. Their operation had grown steadily to the point that, on a big day, they were sorting as many as 600 masks.

Relief, finally

After three weeks of continuous work and no end in sight, Kelly received a phone call from Bloomington Fire Chief Jason Moore. Chief Moore and the City of Bloomington wanted to lend support.

Kelly said, “He asked me what I needed, and I said, ‘Space!'”

The chief immediately arranged for the mask drive to be headquartered at the Allison Jukebox Community Center, and one of his deputies recruited Bloomington Cleaners to clean and dry the masks every day for free.

The use of the community center has been a key advantage for Kelly and Sod. No more traveling to distribute masks or washing and drying!

The volunteer operation runs smoothly, with mask requests coming through the website, www.bloomingtonmaskdrive.com, and mask pick up at the community center, which also serves as a drop-off and pick-up point for donated masks and sewing materials.

Other organizations have stepped up to support the drive. The United Way is accepting donations on behalf of the drive, and donations have been received from the Local Council of Women, SCI Kiwanis, and the Bloomington Rotary Foundation. Local Moose Lodge 1081 recently held a drive-through fundraiser on behalf of Bloomington mask drive and raised $2,000. The Bloomington mask drive has also received dozens of direct donations via a PayPal link on their website.

A highly organized effort

The Bloomington Indiana Fabric Mask Drive is thriving with 240 volunteers sewing masks and 50 other volunteers that help with everything from taking masks to the cleaners, answering pick-up calls, to preparing materials for sewing volunteers. Instead of his former role as chief launderer, Sod now trains all new distribution volunteers and oversees mask distribution operations. Kelly continues to coordinate with the city and other organizations. She manages information, including inventory and mask requests, defines protocols and procedures, answers media requests, monitors materials purchasing and reimbursements, and makes executive decisions.

“The masks are collected using no-contact protocols. We sort the masks into laundry bags and take them to the cleaners, and when the masks return from cleaning, we do a quality check for any damage to the elastic and nose bridge,” explained Sod.

Precautions are further taken in a designated clean room at the Community Center to sort and bag the masks.

“You must have your temperature scanned, then tie your hair back, wash your hands thoroughly, and put on a clean mask before sorting and bagging,” said Kelly.

Different types of masks are better for different uses. Some are better for medical providers and care givers. Those with casual contact but high exposure risk, like service and retail personnel, are better off with a more breathable mask. The masks are sorted based on functional type and come with instructions for use.

Meeting a growing need

As of May 4, Bloomington Indiana Fabric Mask Drive distributed 12,692 masks to individuals and organizations, including the Cook Family Health Center, CFC Properties, and Cook Regentec.

“When I first talked with Chief Moore on the phone, we talked about how many masks we might need, and he said possibly, eventually, enough for everyone in the city of Bloomington. I asked how many that would be, and he said 70,000!” said Kelly.

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