APRIL 14, 2020 UPDATED – Northfield Hospital + Clinics is asking home-sewers to donate cotton masks, as information on COVID-19 and guidance from CDC evolves. Our goal is 1,000 cotton masks. Thank you to the many generous community members who have offered to make cotton masks for us over the past few weeks. We appreciate your help now!

Make masks using NH+C’s checklist and Cotton Masks with Ties (no elastic). Allina’s or CDC’s patterns.

Drop off masks outside Northfield Hospital. Please put the finished masks in sealed plastic bags in counts of 25. Drop off masks outside Northfield Hospital’s front entrance in the bin marked “Cotton Masks.” Please do not enter the hospital, or leave anything at the front desk. Front desk staff does not accept any deliveries at this time.

Careful attention is important for clean, safe masks. 

Please don’t sew if you or anyone in your household has:

• Fever
• Sore throat
• Cough
• New shortness of breath
• Nausea or Diarrhea
• Travelled outside of Minnesota in the last 14 days
• Had contact with someone with confirmed diagnosis/under investigation for COVID-19
• Worked in a health care setting with COVID-19 cases in the last 14 days

Please follow these guidelines for cutting, sewing, and packing:

• Use 100% cotton fabric (woven, not knit)
• Wash your fabric in HOT water before sewing
• Wear clean clothes free of smoke and pet dander
• Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds or more, or used an alcohol-based hand sanitizer
• Clean your workspace thoroughly with hot soapy water or disinfectant
• Keep your work area free from allergens including smoke, perfume, pet fur
• Place finished masks in clear, sealed plastic bags in counts of 25

Full details are on our website with checklist and patterns to print. 

Questions? Please e-mail us at donations@northfieldhospital.org. Our ability to field phone calls right now is very limited. We ask that instead of calling, you contact us via email.

 

About masks at NH+C:

Our medical staff wears manufacturer-made personal protective equipment (PPE) for direct patient care. We still have an adequate supply of professional masks and PPE at this time.

You may have heard that NH+C is working on a separate effort with a limited number of stitchers to sew face masks made of surgical wrap (provided by NH+C) and cotton fabric liners. They’re following very strict guidelines set by surgical staff. This is not a community-wide effort.

 

About cotton masks for public use:

CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (such as grocery stores and pharmacies). CDC also advises the use of simple cloth face coverings to slow the spread of the virus, and help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others. 

DON'T share masks. Have one that you alone use, and wash it:

• Wash in washing machine with HOT water and detergent. Dry on HOT setting.
• Wash in the top rack of dishwasher set to sanitary cycle, in mesh bag. Let air dry or dry in the dryer.

Healthy people wearing a mask adds another layer of protection (like social distancing) to prevent you from spreading germs to others if you don’t know whether you have a virus. This keeps you from spreading germs – it doesn’t protect you from getting germs.

Whether you wear a mask or not, the best ways to protect your health are:

• Wash your hands frequently
• Don’t touch your face
• Stay home

If you do get sick, NH+C is here for you.

Thank you for your support and help protecting our community from the spread of COVID-19.