LONG SAULT – The Township of South Stormont and a local fire supply business have partnered to make a $4,000 donation of personal protective equipment (PPE) to three seniors homes in the township.
Mayor Bryan McGillis and M&L Supply Fire and Safety President Mark Prendergast were at Woodland Villa in Long Sault Friday afternoon to make the PPE donation of N95 masks and surgical masks.
A donation to Sunset Cove Retirement Living in Long Sault was made earlier in the day and the third donation will be going to Senior Country Living in Lunenburg.
Mayor McGillis says $4,000 left over from township municipal grants went to food banks but they also had a $4,000 donation from M&L Supply Fire and Safety of Ingleside.
“I called Mark (Prendergast) and asked if this was okay, this donation, and he was more than happy to put his money towards that initiative which I thought was a really generous thing on his part,” Mayor Bryan McGillis said.
Prendergast explained this donation also has a personal connection.
“My brother, basically the last 15 years of his life, spent it in that room right over there,” he said, pointing to a window in the south wing of the nursing home on Mille Roches Road.
“When Bryan said what he was doing…I said, I would like to see the money going to the seniors…because they’re the ones most affected by this (COVID-19). When the mayor came back and said what he was doing, I was like, I can’t say no…100 per cent in favour.”
Woodland Villa Administrator Janna Sabourin says her staff are humbled by the community support.
“The community outpouring of support and donations we’ve received since the beginning of this pandemic has been phenomenal. We’re humbled by just everybody rallying. We thank you, Mark. We thank you, Brian, for this. We really do appreciate it.”
After going through an outbreak, Sabourin knows all too well how much PPE the long term care home goes through. She says the home’s uniform policy changed yesterday to include masks as part of workers’ uniforms. “I don’t think it’s going away anytime soon. It’s here to stay. The more we can have, the better. It’s part of what I think long term care is going to be like in the future.”
Woodland Villa has 111 residents and 130 staff.