BATON ROUGE – The Baton Rouge Area Chamber, also known as BRAC, is working to ensure that healthcare employees have the resources they need to serve the community during the pandemic.

One new way BRAC is meeting this need is through its creation of The Sewing Safe Project, which was established alongside the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge, as a means of utilizing the talents of local sewists who are able to create nurses' surgical gowns from an approved pattern.

The Sewing Safe Project has been a success and will deliver its first order of 500 gowns to Baton Rouge General this week.

An additional 300 are set to be delivered in the next 10 days and another 100 gowns are on order to be delivered to Woman’s Hospital.

“Artists and community members were excited to use their talents to help the dedicated professionals in our local hospitals,” said Renee Chatelain, president/CEO of the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge. “The job opportunities created for artists and other community members has made a huge difference, as well, and we are grateful to be part of this collective to address such a critical need.”

The hospitals on the receiving end of the deliveries say they're grateful for the much-needed supplies.

“Every hospital in the country is looking for supplies right now – it’s a daily challenge,” said Stephen Mumford, COO of Baton Rouge General. “That’s why we’re so proud of this community and our local businesses for working together in creative ways to support our team on the front line.”

But BRAC says in addition to gowns, other supplies are still needed and local businesses who can help are encouraged to do so.

Of particular need are germicidal wipes, hand sanitizer, surgical masks, procedure masks, N95 masks, gowns and protective drapes, goggles, and latex and non-latex gloves of all sizes. Regional leaders are looking for business assistance in the following ways:

1. Businesses with the above-mentioned items available to donate may do so Monday through Friday, 9 – 11 a.m., at 9455 Plank Road. Contact 225-763-4240 or PPEdonations@brhealthdistrict.com for further instruction. The donation site is an initiative organized by the Baton Rouge Health District, and is currently primarily intended for business to business donations. Please make sure to only include clean, boxed, sealed, and unused containers.
2. Manufacturers who are interested and able to transition their production to one of the needed items are encouraged to do so. Contact Donnie Miller at donnie@brac.org for guidance.
3. Businesses or makers with technical abilities to innovate needed items through 3D printing should contact Stephen Loy with the Louisiana Tech Park at stephen@latechpark.com.