ALLISTON -- Stevenson Memorial Hospital (SMH) in Alliston is once again calling out for the community's help with personal protective equipment (PPE) as staff continue to deal with the pandemic.
"We've seen 23 positive COVID patients, many of those have been sent home to self-isolate," says Carrie Jeffreys, vice president of services.
While non-essential services have been suspended, the emergency department and obstetrics unit continue to function at the hospital.
The obstetrics unit has been relocated to the second floor to make space for seven isolation rooms for patients who have either tested positive or are suspected to have COVID-19.
The hospital has also created a four-bed ICU space equipped with negative pressure.
None of the staff at the hospital have tested positive for the virus, but staying safe requires PPEs and lots of it.
The hospital staff go through 800 masks every day.
"Supply line is critically important for us to stay on top of," Jeffreys says. "Gowns, again, are a big one for us. We go through 130 to 150 of those a day, and gloves - a thousand gloves a day - so seven-thousand a week."
"We've had donations from optometrists offices, physiotherapy offices, car repair shops, nail salons... it's remarkable how many people have these supplies. So we are asking people to take a look, maybe they have something we could use, and we are so grateful to anyone who can donate to us right now," says Tanya Wall, SMH executive director.
PPE donations are welcome anytime and can be dropped off outside the staff entrance at SMH.
