The Northampton Health Department is located in Western Massachusetts and serves approximately 28,000 people.  According to the Emergency Preparedness Populations Planning Tool, approximately 35% of the population is over 65yrs old and lives alone, 10% of the population has a disability, and 5% of the population does not have a vehicle.  Health Director, Merridith O'Leary, is a leader in the public health field working tirelessly to respond to COVID-19 and minimize transmission.  On April 16, 2020, she issued orders establishing that all consumers and employees wear face coverings at all times when social distancing can not be maintained, at any businesses providing essential services within the City of Northampton.  Although this order was critical in minimizing community spread, The Northampton Health Department recognized that not everyone had access to a mask at that time.  As a result, The City of Northampton Health Department quickly developed a mask distribution program to make sure all community members had a face covering.  First, Director O'Leary put out a press release asking the local community for donations of fabric, thread, and elastic to create masks for the community.  Next, they partnered with local sewing groups Valley Masks, DIY Masks in Western Massachusetts and Smith College to make reusable fabric masks.  Cooley Dickinson Hospital also supported this effort by streamlining collections and laundering masks.  The Health Department was able to safely package the masks with a health information sheet and hard-to-find hand sanitizer.  The Northampton Fire Department assisted with this effort by sorting the deliveries by streets to make the deliveries as efficient as possible.  Finally, the Hampshire County Medical Reserve Corps provided no contact delivery throughout the community.  This program quickly met the needs of the community and was able to expand operations to provide regional mask distribution throughout Hampshire County to residents, businesses, and public agencies in need of face masks.   To date, this program has distributed more than 6500 masks!  This effort could not have been possible with out the quick thinking and can-do attitude of the Health Director and established relationships with community partners.

This mask distribution program was innovative because it quickly identified a new need in the community and was able to quickly address it.  We were able to safely provide masks to our most vulnerable populations including our senior citizens, residents with functional and access needs, the economically disadvantaged, and the homeless population.  Prior to April, our community members did not wear masks and they were not readliy available at the time the health order was issued.  This new program served an immediate need and was well received.  The Health Department used this opportunity and program to educate the public about proper mask wearing, provide hand sanitizer, and distribute face coverings at no charge.   

The City of Northampton Health Department has longstanding relationships with area colleges, hospitals, emergency serivces, and The Medical Reserve Corps.  These proved to be integral in quickly establishing a program to create, launder, package, and  distribute face masks throughout Hampshire County.  The goal was to make masks available to all those in need and we far-exceeded our expectations by distributing thousands of masks.  Although we have relationships with many local agencies through our public health emergency preparedness coalition work, we developed a new, "unexpected" relationship with sewing groups who were ultimely the most important piece of the puzzle.  We had not previously had relationships with sewing groups but we were able to connect with sewers who were willing to use their sewing skills to assist during this emergency.  This program was truly a collaboration of many agencies working together to keep each other safe.  

This program was developed to help maintain the community's health during the pandemic.  We expanded our sewing partnerships as the demand for masks increased.  We also partnered with the Northampton Police Department to provide masks in each cruiser that could be distributed to the community, as needed.  After the first delivery, we realized the volunteers were spending a lot of time driving all over the community delivering masks.  We partnered with the fire department to help us group deliveries in close proximity to maximize our efficiency.