3,348 masks sewn for Salmon Creek hospice

SALMON CREEK — Five groups making up 200 people joined together to sew 3,348 masks for health care professionals, public-facing workers, patients and families at Community Home Health & Hospice. The groups included The Grove Alliance Church of Longview; East Hills Alliance Church in Kelso; Cowlitz County Love Masks; Ladies of the Lake Quilt Guild of Longview; and Warm Threads for Jesus at First Baptist Church. All visitors to the hospice care centers are offered a mask, and in some cases are required to wear them. “As health care providers across the country face a shortage of personal protective equipment, local tailors — from church groups to Facebook groups to donors and our own employees — have jumped into action to sew masks for those on the front lines of this battle against COVID-19,” Community Home Health & Hospice President and CEO Greg Pang said in a news release. “We serve a highly vulnerable population and our ‘community sewing brigade’ is playing a critical role in protecting us all.” Step-by-step instructions on how to make a mask, including an instructional video and downloadable print pattern, is available at www.chhh.org/masks-for-community. Mask kits are also available at both of its locations: 3102 N.E. 134th St., Vancouver, and 1035 11th Ave., Longview. To coordinate a pickup, call Tiffany Stephens at 360-567-3515 or email tiffany.stephens@chhh.org.