Department of Natural Resources and Parks employees are doing a wide variety of important work every day to protect public health and the environment.
Some jobs can require the specialized equipment that healthcare professionals and other COVID-19 pandemic front-line responders desperately need – including face masks, and disposable gloves.
When the call for supplies went out, several DNRP employees knew exactly where to look for surplus materials.
Boxes of those supplies were stashed in storage rooms throughout DNRP – either acquired for past situations that failed to materialize, or simply as reserves for ongoing or seasonal needs:
- Water and Land Resources Division recently donated the following items from their supply rooms: 30 16-ounce containers of hand sanitizer; 100 surgical gowns; 24 TVEC suits; 600 pairs of disposable gloves; and 400 N-95 masks. Last week, they donated 620 N95 masks in storage that were also acquired for field crews’ use during smoky summers – along with 250 pairs of disposable gloves;
- Parks and Recreation Division donated 100 N95 masks that were purchased to help protect field crews during the last bad wildfire season;
- Wastewater Treatment Division donated 50 N95 masks and another 150 pairs of disposable gloves.
More needed masks and PPE are coming. DNRP employees continue to check their supplies for surplus personal protective equipment that can be donated. These vital supplies are being delivered to King County’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC), where employees will deliver them to the agencies and organizations with the greatest needs.
If you have additional stockpiles of disposable masks and gloves in their original packaging, visit the OEM website, https://kingcounty.gov/depts/emergency-management/special-topics/donations-connector.aspx where donations and volunteers can be matched with where they can do the most good.