The desire to help our friends and neighbors is engrained in our culture, but how can we do this in a safe way now that we have the shelter in place mandate?
Do you work for a medical office that has been temporarily closed down? Does your school Biology lab have unopened supplies? Maybe you have some protective gear still in packages in your shed from the BR flood?
This is what we need to know if we want to donate supplies/PPE (personal protective equipment) to our local hospitals at this time!
Our hospitals’ main needs are:
- Surgical Masks
- N95 Masks
- Face Masks
- Face Shields
- Goggles
- Isolation Gowns/Shoe Covers
- Hand Sanitizer
- Bleach Wipes
- Germicidal Wipes
- Nitrile Gloves
- D Cell Batteries for ventilators
These unopened items can be brought to BRG Bluebonnet Campus – Entrance 3. You do not need to get out of your car; there are volunteers at the door available to take the items. These items will be divided up among the local Baton Rouge hospitals based on need.
Please check your local hospital websites and social media pages for any changes or additional needs.
There are various ways to donate, including through MOHSEP (Mayor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness) and the Baton Rouge Health District.
Nationally, our front line health care workers are running low on PPE. If you do not have these items to donate but would still like to help, visit https://getusppe.org/ to either request donations for your Hospital, help out monetarily, or to get info on sewing masks. #GetUsPPE
Other Ways to Donate to our Community:
Donate Food:
Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, Baton Rouge General Medical Center, Ochsner Baton Rouge, and Woman’s Hospital have day and night shift teams working around the clock to provide care to our community. If we cannot donate supplies, sew masks, and cannot leave our home – lets do our part to feed the troops!
Text/Call/Zoom Chat your friends and neighbors – gather gift cards to local restaurants, call catering companies, find ways to gather donations to purchase and send meals to the hospitals – truly, the possibilities are endless.
Call the Main Hospital phone number and/or the ER Main phone number to let them know you have a food donation from a local Restaurant or Licensed Catering Company. Someone will safely come out to your car to get the food for the teams! I can promise you, they are beyond grateful to be fed. Typically once they enter the Covid Unit, they cannot leave until their shift is over – so most do not get the opportunity to eat. Thank you in advance for feeding our healthcare workers!
Donate to First Responders:
“The St. George Firefighters Foundation, St. George Professional Firefighters Association and St. George Fire Department are teaming up with area restaurants in the delivery of meals to local First Responders. By donating, you can help stimulate local economy and help reduce exposure to First Responders who are there during this time of need, all from the safety of your home.”
If you’d like to help, please do so at the links below:
https://www.paypal.me/SGFireFoundation?locale.x=en_US
https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/feed-local1
Donate Blood:
- The Blood Center
- United Blood Service
- Biomat USA
- Lifeshare Blood Center
- Our Lady of the Lake Blood Donor Center
- Ochsner Blood Bank
Please call any and all of your local blood donation centers to get their times and details about donating. It is still safe to donate blood and these blood centers are desperate! If you are healthy and do not have a fever, please give them a call today!
Donate to the Local Food Bank:
The Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank is accepting donations in the form of secure online monetary donations: $1 could help provide 3 meals. To donate food, you can simply drop it off at the Food Bank or get creative and host a quarantine food drive. The GBR Food Bank is in need of healthy and willing to volunteers for regular food distribution as well as any potential increased demand for emergency food. All details can be found on their website.
Donate Funds:
“Some people have asked how they can help support Baton Rouge General. For those who cannot donate supplies, we’ve established a COVID-19 Operations Fund. This fund will allow the foundation to remain flexible in supporting the hospital’s areas of greatest need in this fight.
To make a donation, please text BRG to 22525 or visit www.brgeneral.org/donate and designate your gift to the COVID-19 Operations Fund. For questions, please call 225.763.4372.
Support from the COVID-19 Operations Fund could allow:
- Purchase of supplies
- Acquisition of equipment
- Expansion of COVID-19 treatment spaces
- Operations support for essential staff
- Patient Support
THANK YOU, HEALTHCARE WORKERS!
If you are able and willing to donate for anything that you have read above, please call our local hospitals. They have a great need! This is a very fluid situation – we are constantly learning more about Covid-19 and things are bound to change day by day. If your donation needs change, please contact us so we can update this for the community!
Let’s stay informed, stay healthy, and stay home!
