Contractors urged to donate masks to hospitals

It is beginning as a trickle, but an Ottawa contractor is hoping his call-out to the construction industry will result in a flood of scarce respirator masks being donated to local hospitals.

James McKellar, president of Am-Tech Electric Inc., started with 15 masks, which his company donated to The Ottawa Hospital Tuesday. But his company — like many around the city — has masks at every job site. For Am-Tech, that includes now shuttered job sites in local hospitals.

If they can gather up those masks, McKellar believes up to 1,000 unused masks from job sites and businesses across the city could be donated to local hospitals dealing with a growing novel coronavirus crisis.

Contractors use the masks for a variety of reasons, but McKellar said the need is greater in hospitals.

“We need them because we use them all the time, but we need them a whole lot less than the hospital needs them,” he said.

The N95 respirator-type masks, which are crucial to protect health workers during highrisk procedures such as intubations, are in short supply around the world, as is other personal protective equipment.

The Ontario government has been able to procure one million more N95 respirator masks and nearly six million more surgical masks in recent days, said Hayley Chazan, spokesperson for Health Minister Christine Elliott.

But the need remains both great and somewhat unknown. Existing pandemic plans projected that an influenza pandemic could infect up to 35 per cent of the population, and COVID-19 is more infectious than seasonal flu.

Already there are reports of masks being limited in some hospitals. A hospital worker from Mississauga, who spoke with the Citizen on the condition of confidentiality, said emergency department staff there are being told they get two surgical masks per eight-hour shift.

McKellar, who is currently isolating at home after returning from Florida, had a driver deliver some masks to The Ottawa Hospital and has offered to pick up any other masks to deliver.

He is also talking to the hospital about getting access to N95 masks at job sites in the hospital.

“I have masks in my job box in your basement,” he told the hospital. The Ottawa Hospital has up to 10 ongoing construction jobs.

“If they can get access to those, they can get hundreds of masks that are already in their building.”

McKellar said his challenge to the construction industry has been greeted enthusiastically by The Ottawa Hospital.

In addition to procuring additional masks, gloves and other protective equipment, the province has procured 300 more ventilators and 50,000 new test kits. It is also working to encourage and reduce barriers so that Ontario manufacturers can produce essential equipment.

McKeller believes some of the answer to boosting supplies is right under people’s noses.

Not only do construction companies have masks, but other companies do as well.

“You start to look at the different industries and there are a lot of these masks floating around. I don’t think anyone has thought about giving them up yet, so why not?”

About half of McKellar’s company’s job sites have been closed due to novel coronavirus.

He said he recognizes that businesses have the masks because they use them. “But health care workers need them more. Let’s get the front-line workers protected so we can get back to work.”