Before Pingree's campus shut down in compliance with Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker's order to close schools until May 4, a few forward-thinking staffers gathered up the available medical-grade gloves on campus and figured out a way the gloves could go to good use.
Thanks to the quick planning of science teacher Kathy Karch and athletic trainer Melissa Richie paired with the on-the-gound execution of science teacher Stacey Nicholson and head trainer Nick Ogles, all of Pingree's available gloves were brought to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
Vicki McKenna, an intensive care nurse at BIDMC, was talking with Nick about their sons' hockey team when the conversation turned, as it does so often, to the pandemic. Nick shared, "the stories Vicki were relaying to me were pretty scary, trying to figure out how to use the gloves and masks that are needed for everything and running through the equipment at alarming speeds. It was awesome that Kathy and Melissa talked this idea out and Stacey and I were able to round up the supplies and get them to where they could be used to help out the most. Boston is always on the front lines of caring for and coming up with better systems to care for patients in times like this." After Stacey scoured the science wing for available supplies, she set them outside the Athletics Center to be combined with the athletics training supplies (photo), and Nick dropped the combined stock on Vicki's doorstep for her to take into work on her next shift.