University of Utah ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ is accepting cloth face covering donations to help reserve proper protected personnel equipment (PPE) for staff who need medical grade masks to protect themselves from COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated face mask guidelines in April and recommended wearing cloth face covering to slow the spread of COVID-19 to prevent transmission to others. Cloth face coverings will be distributed to U of U ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ patients, visitors, and staff to use in a non-clinical setting.
How to Donate
Cloth face coverings can be dropped off at bins located at U of U ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ community clinics. These locations include:
- Farmington ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ Center
- Centerville ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ Center
- Madsen ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ Center in Salt Lake City
- Sugar House ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ Center
- Redwood ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ Center in South Salt Lake
- Greenwood ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ Center in Midvale
- Westridge ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ Center in West Valley City
- South Jordan ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ Center
- Redstone ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ Center in Park City
- Stansbury ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ Center in Tooele
- Parkway ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ Center in Orem
Cleaning Cloth Face Coverings
Donated cloth face coverings will be properly cleaned and decontaminated by University of Utah Hospital Laundry Services. The face coverings will be laundered using a similar process as patient bed linens. Clean face coverings are then transported to a bagging room where hospital employees handle the masks wearing appropriate PPE. The face coverings are then individually packaged with instructions on how to properly care and launder the masks at home.
Want to Make a Cloth Face Covering?
Cloth mask coverings need to filter out particles but still be easy to breathe through. Experts recommend using 100 percent cotton fabrics or cotton blend fabrics. You can find cloth face covering assembly instructions here.