JACKSONVILLE, Fla — A stockpile of respirator masks and gloves discovered in the local federal court system is now in the hands of Jacksonville emergency medical workers.
Employees of the Middle District of Florida found the gear after the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts asked federal courts nationwide to search for surplus medical supplies. The gear is used to open mail, and has been a part of federal court operations routines the athrax attacks of 2001.
First Coast News spoke to District Judge Marcia Morales Howard shortly after Thursday’s donation.
“We knew that there was a better use for these than sitting in our supply closet, so we decided we should donate them to the closest hospital.”
The courts donated the excess supply to Baptist Hospital. Asked if the staff there was grateful, Howard said, “it’s not a matter of gratitude, it’s a matter of doing the right thing. And certainly those masks are needed where they are, and we wanted to make sure they got in the hands of the right people.”
She said they didn’t know where to donate them, so Howard reached out to a friend in the medical profession who had contacts in the medical world and learned, “they had a dire need at the Baptist [Hospital] ER.”
His friend picked up the masks and gloves and delivered them Thursday morning. “They will be put to good use,” said Howard.
The discovery of masks in federal courts around the country was prompted by a discovery by courts in the Northern District of Florida of 1,200 masks. Courts around the country have now donated thousands of masks, gloves and protective gowns to hospitals in their areas.
“I suspect that will continue as courts look into what they have in stock,” she said.