Plexiglass has been added at Kaleida Hospitals in the Buffalo area.

Kaleida Health announced today in a news release it continues to take extra precautions to protect its staff, patients and visitors from COVID-19.

Plexiglass dividers have been installed in hospital emergency departments, labor and delivery units and food service locations across the organization. In addition to enhanced cleaning protocols, the transparent partitions, designed to block virus-containing droplets, offer an extra level of protection for staff as well as patients and visitors.

In other developments:

— In a continued effort to keep its workforce safe and healthy, Kaleida Health’s purchasing and supply chain teams have been relentless in reaching out to every possible vendor and business partner to secure additional equipment, supplies and personal protective equipment for staff, providers, patients and visitors. Over the past week, Kaleida Health received donations of PPE from the following local partners:

· Erie County Emergency Services – 2,040 N95 masks in various sizes

· Ford Motor Company Stamping Plant – 6,000 face shields.

· D’Youville College – 8,800 pairs of gloves

Also, Kaleida Health released a statement Friday opposing Governor Cuomo’s executive order involving the transfer or “loaning 20%” of personal protective equipment and medical supplies like ventilators to downstate hospitals. In addition, it responded to false reports on social media regarding the order.

Michael P. Hughes, chief of Staff, Kaleida Health said, “The rumors that have circulated on social media are completely false. The National Guard was not at Buffalo General Medical Center or any of our other hospitals. Nor were ventilators or supplies taken from us. This type of misinformation only causes further panic and chaos in a time of great uncertainty. That said, we still vehemently oppose the Governor’s executive order to take 20% of upstate hospitals’ equipment and supplies. We will continue to fight this in an effort to protect our patients as well as our physicians, nurses and staff during this pandemic.”