University of Utah Health is accepting cloth face covering donations to help reserve proper protected personnel equipment (PPE) for staff who need medical grade masks to protect themselves from COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated face mask guidelines in April and recommended wearing cloth face covering to slow the spread of COVID-19 to prevent transmission to others. Cloth face coverings will be distributed to U of U Health patients, visitors, and staff to use in a non-clinical setting.
How to Donate
Cloth face coverings can be dropped off at bins located at U of U Health community clinics. These locations include:
- Farmington Health Center
- Centerville Health Center
- Madsen Health Center in Salt Lake City
- Sugar House Health Center
- Redwood Health Center in South Salt Lake
- Greenwood Health Center in Midvale
- Westridge Health Center in West Valley City
- South Jordan Health Center
- Redstone Health Center in Park City
- Stansbury Health Center in Tooele
- Parkway Health Center in Orem
Cleaning Cloth Face Coverings
Donated cloth face coverings will be properly cleaned and decontaminated by University of Utah Hospital Laundry Services. The face coverings will be laundered using a similar process as patient bed linens. Clean face coverings are then transported to a bagging room where hospital employees handle the masks wearing appropriate PPE. The face coverings are then individually packaged with instructions on how to properly care and launder the masks at home.
Want to Make a Cloth Face Covering?
Cloth mask coverings need to filter out particles but still be easy to breathe through. Experts recommend using 100 percent cotton fabrics or cotton blend fabrics. You can find cloth face covering assembly instructions here.