(Camden, NJ) – Today, April 21, the Camden County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) will be delivering approximately 25,000 pieces of assorted personal protective equipment (PPE) from its inventory to 18 long-term care facilities in Camden County. The deliveries will be made to local OEMs who will then distribute directly to each facility.

The critically needed supplies were provided by the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management to be distributed to long-term care facilities. Each facility has different needs based on the resources already in their possession and will receive supplies based on individual circumstances. Deliveries made today will include protective gowns, N-95 masks, surgical masks, protective gloves, face shields, and hand sanitizer.

“Long-term care facilities have been hit extremely hard by the spread of coronavirus, and that trend has shown little sign of dissipating without serious intervention,” said Freeholder Jon Young. “Last week the Camden County Health Department took over random inspections of our 56 long-term care facilities from the state of New Jersey in order to audit and inspect operations that have at least 2 confirmed cases of COVID-19. One of the first things to become clear upon our initial audits was a severe shortage of PPE. In addition to today’s deliveries, we are continuing to identify actions the county can take to prevent further loss of life in these institutions.”

Camden County OEM has been working closely with its state government counterpart to secure PPE for these facilities. Today’s deliveries, and others which have already occurred, will help to strengthen the ability of these facilities to respond to COVID-19 by ensuring the safety of staff and personnel while they work with patients to stop further spread of coronavirus in these dense communities.