During the COVID-19 pandemic, many product manufacturers and vendors are coming up with inventive ways to give back to their healthcare communities. Whether its pivoting manufacturing to help alleviate shortages or partnering with others, here are some uplifting ways vendors are responding to the current pandemic.

If you’re interested in sharing your story, including how your company is contributing to COVID-19 relief efforts, email Managing Editor Tracey Walker at [email protected].

MANUFACTURER COVID-19 RELIEF EFFORTS

UMF Medical And Amazon Business Partner To Supply Emergency Beds Amid COVID-19

Johnstown, Pa.-based UMF Medical, manufacturer of power exam tables and procedure chairs, has partnered with Amazon Business to supply emergency beds, cots, and mattresses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The UMF Medical Emergency Medical Bed & Mattress Set, which includes enough frames, legs, and mattresses to make 20 beds, has been used at alternative care sites, such as the Javits Center (New York) and private hospitals throughout the U.S.

Industry Partners Support Conversion Of Florida Convention Center Into A Temporary Field Hospital

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, architect RLF Architecture Engineering Interiors, construction firm Robins & Morton, flooring manufacturer Interface, and flooring contractor O’Neill Brothers, helped convert 250,000 square feet of the Miami Beach Convention Center (Miami Beach, Fla.) into a temporary field hospital. The $22.5 million project involved the renovation of existing convention space into a 450-bed COVID-19 facility. RLF and Robins & Morton led the project’s construction. With the support of O’Neill Brothers, Interface delivered 50,000 square feet of Nora rubber flooring for the project.

Designtex And West Elm Create 13,000 Face Masks To Support Pandemic Efforts

Designtex, a materials design and manufacturing company, and retailer West Elm are working together to design, manufacture, and produce 13,000 cotton face masks to support COVID-19 pandemic efforts. West Elm donated organic cotton sheets and Designtex is creating the masks at its Surface Imaging facility in Portland, Maine.

KPS Global Ready For Rapid Deployment Of Climate-Controlled Temporary Structures

The need for emergency response temporary structures have reached a new level, with reports of New York healthcare workers dealing with an overflow of bodies of the victims of COVID-19. KPS Global, a manufacturer of insulated panel systems, is offering rapid deployment of its climate-controlled modular units to COVID-19 crisis hot spots. Predesigned units can be assembled in less than 24 hours and can be set up in parking lots, convention centers, and stadiums.

Teknoflor Deemed Disaster Recovery Supplier

Teknoflor, manufacturer and distributor of flooring products, has been designated a disaster recovery supplier by the General Services Administration (GSA), and is offering 21 products on GSA schedules ready to ship including Teknoflor resilient tile and resilient sheet, as well as chlorine-free sheet and tile products. The GSA designation extends exclusive savings to local government agencies, by using funding recently made available by current events. Meanwhile, the company has reduced prices on all its branded products nationwide, after considering the current market landscape and a recent decrease on vinyl-producing raw materials, such as petroleum related freight, and current exchange rates. For more information on pricing and products, visit here.

Tarkett Streamlines Support For FEMA And Emergency Response Teams

Tarkett, manufacturer of sustainable flooring, has established a dedicated concierge line for FEMA contractors and other emergency response organizations to streamline the procurement of essential flooring products for healthcare and government facilities. Internally, Tarkett is continually monitoring inventories of resilient and soft-surface products and prioritizing those inventories for immediate need; allocating products once immediate needs are determined; directing manufacturing resources to produce products where inventories are being depleted; and increasing manufacturing capabilities to meet the increased demand as the pandemic continues.

Shaw Industries Makes 3-D Face Shields

Dalton, Ga.-based flooring company Shaw Industries has turned its MakerSpace, an innovative space open to all Shaw associates, into a production studio to make face shields with 3-D printers. Local schools donated transparency sheets for the mask portion of the shield. The company has produced approximately 1,500 masks, which were donated to Hamilton Medical Center in Dalton, Ga.; AdventHealth Gordon in Calhoun, Ga.; and nine Life Care facilities in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Mohawk Industries And Fabric Sources To Make Medical Gowns

To address the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) among healthcare providers, flooring manufacturer Mohawk Industries and Fabric Sources International, specializing in fabric products, have partnered to make medical gowns. The partners aim to product 1,000 gowns or more a day.

Standard Textile Pivots Production To Make PPE And Products For Healthcare Workers

Standard Textile Co., Inc., a vertically integrated technology-based textile business, has converted its manufacturing operations and is prioritizing the distribution of reusable PPE and other healthcare products at its manufacturing and distribution facilities in the United States. The company revamped its Brownsville, Texas, facility to make face masks, while another facility will be making face shields. In addition, the company’s research and development laboratory collaborated with its operations in Thomaston, Ga., and Union, S.C., to develop a unique version of a liquid-resistant, breathable, and reusable cover gown for healthcare workers.

Mannington Commercial Delivers Flooring To Temporary Field Hospital In New York

Flooring manufacturer Mannington Commercial has delivered more than 114,300-square-feet of heterogenous resilient sheet flooring to SUNY College Old Westbury, Old Westbury, N.Y., which was temporary converted into field hospital. The company provided stock specifications, arranged logistics, and shipped the first 24,300 square feet one day after receiving the inquiry, with an additional 90,000 square feet shipped a week later.

SkyCeiling Turning Virtual Skylight Panels Into Intubation Shields
Sky Factory, a fine art and digital technology company, is modifying the image panels for its Luminous SkyCeilings, virtual skylights, to convert them into intubation shields for regional hospitals in Iowa. Working with volunteers and in collaboration with Jefferson County Health Center in Fairfield, Iowa, the company is reshaping the skylights to feature a respiratory droplet splatter guard across the top of the cube’s main opening, as well as curved shoulder openings that enhance the fit around a patient’s upper body.