Loyola Scientists, Artists, Designers Donate More PPE in Fight Against COVID-19

Loyola University New Orleans scientists, artists and designers have joined the fight against COVID-19, collecting more personal protective equipment from the university’s state-of-the-art art, design and laboratories and donating it for distribution to healthcare workers on the front lines.

Inspired by a Loyola senior and fellow colleagues professors from Loyola’s Biology, Art and Design departments on Friday, April 3, collected and donated an additional 148,000 gloves, 60 N95 masks, 15 surgical masks, 11 face shields and 12 disposable gowns to the fight against COVID-19.

These donations are in addition to the equipment collected and donated by Loyola’s Physics, Psychological Sciences, Neuroscience and Biology Departments. On Monday, March 30, Loyola contributed 30,000 lab-quality latex gloves, 300 disposable gowns, 500 face masks, 300 sets of shoe covers and three face shields.

The gifts have made nationwide news, and hopefully serve as an inspiration to other universities.

“The obvious place to look for PPE is in the science labs, but artists also need to follow safety protocols to protect themselves from chemical hazards,” said Associate Professor of Biological Sciences Kim Mix, Ph.D., who uses N95 masks and associated PPE in her research involving recombinant HIV vectors. “It’s important to highlight because there are likely other artists in the community that could be tapped for PPE donations.”