FITCHBURG — A $30,000 grant given by The Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts for Personal Protection Equipment has helped Alliance Health at Baldwinville — a skilled nursing facility — maintain a COVID-19-free environment.
At a time when nursing homes have been hit incredibly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, Alliance Health at Baldwinville has reported just two cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of May.
The Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts awarded the grant to Alliance Health at Baldwinville through grant funds allocated to them from the MA COVID-19 Relief Fund. The grant allowed Alliance Health at Baldwinville to secure thousands of pieces of additional PPE, including full suits, disposable and washable gowns, face shields, goggles, KN95 masks, surgical masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, and disinfection stations.
“We’d like to thank the Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts for its generosity during this most challenging time,” said Frank Grady, CEO of Alliance Health & Human Services, which operates eight nonprofit nursing homes in the state, including the Baldwinville facility. “This money helped us mitigate the spread of the disease and to provide some much needed morale-boosting events for our staff who worked tirelessly to deliver compassionate care to our residents.”
“The Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts was thrilled to provide this grant to Alliance Health at Baldwinville and support their front-line workers who are tirelessly working throughout this pandemic,” Foundation President Steve Adams said. “We are glad that the grant allowed the facility to acquire the supplies they need to protect the health and safety of their residents and their staff at this time.”
“It was a privilege to watch our front-line staff during this unprecedented time. Acting selflessly and with professional dedication, they were a beacon of light in an otherwise dark chapter,” Laura Mueller, the executive director of Alliance Health at Baldwinville, said. “We are so grateful to the Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts for helping us to protect them and show them our gratitude.”
The facility also used part of the grant for employee morale programs to celebrate the front-line staff, including providing the front-line staff with “HealthCare Hero” shirts and partnering with a local Specialty Food Distributor to send weekly treats to all employees – including contract workers.
“Feeling safe and appreciated goes a long way in normal times, let alone a pandemic,” Lisa Salame, an LPN Unit Manager at the nursing home, said. “We are a tightly knit team and worked around the clock to care for our residents. The work was exhausting and the little acts of kindness and access to enough PPE helped us put one foot in front of the other.”
