O.C. Tanner announced it has converted a portion of its manufacturing space to develop and produce vital medical equipment needed to fight the COVID-19 outbreak, and it will be donating this equipment to hospitals that are in dire need of resources.
O.C. Tanner recognizes the need to mitigate the hazards faced by frontline healthcare professionals during this pandemic. To that end, they have worked in partnership with local hospitals and other experts to develop prototypes for face shields for doctors and nurses, ventilator parts and adapters for powered air purifying respirators (PAPR). The first order of PAPR adapters was donated to the University of Utah hospital on March 30, providing medical professionals with needed protective gear.
“This is a humbling project to be part of,” says Josh McEwan, O.C. Tanner’s director of product development. “The hospital staff are amazing people who are currently facing uniquely hazardous conditions while they serve our communities. This is a difficult time for everyone across the world, but it’s also a unique opportunity for us to help people thrive in a different way, and to be part of something so vitally important to saving lives.”
“There is a global need for this equipment, and we are a global company intensely focused on helping companies create healthy and thriving environments where employees can do their best work,” says CEO Dave Petersen. “This is what the critical frontline needs to do their jobs — these hospitals and their healthcare heroes are our clients. We care about them. It seems perfectly natural that our people would help their people now, when it matters most. And we want to make this part of our contribution to battling COVID-19.”
O.C. Tanner plans to continue creating and distributing PAPR and other lifesaving equipment for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company is ramping up production to continue supporting hospital and medical workers across the US and around the world.
