LIT Responds to First Responders

4/9/2020

BEAUMONT— A team of Lamar Institute of Technology faculty rallied together, responding quickly on a Sunday afternoon to ensure area first responders on the front lines had medical supplies and equipment they needed to protect themselves from COVID-19.
 
LIT President Dr. Lonnie L. Howard reached out to Allied Health & Sciences Department Chair Allen Welch, after receiving a call from community leader Vernon Pierce about an urgent need. Howard requested a coordinated effort for donations to Jefferson County’s Emergency Management Center through the Jefferson County Emergency Relief Fund.
 
Within three hours, Welch had enlisted EMS Clinical Program Coordinator Clint Vannoy and Dental Hygiene instructors Lisa Harrell and Dr. Kristina Mendoza to help inventory personal protective equipment (PPE) the county needed. They then hand-delivered the lifesaving supplies to be used at the Jack Brooks Regional Airport COVID test site.
 
Items gathered included: isolation face masks, nurses’ caps, gloves and disposable surgical and blue film gowns.
 
County Logistics Deputy Autumn Brown said these supplies “are essential for (this) test site,” which will be manned by 15 individuals comprised of first responders, security and other medical personnel. Brown deemed the supplies as “crucial” for protecting personnel, while expressing the county’s gratitude for the donation. The Institute also donated ventilators to a local hospital to provide more essential/life-saving equipment during the pandemic.