Massachusetts has long been one of the major coronavirus hot spots in the U.S., and on Friday its death toll reached 8,000, third most in the country behind New York and New Jersey. But all three states have seen their daily numbers decrease substantially since the peaks of their surges, and the attention has now shifted from the United States' Northeast to the South and Southwest.
While the commonwealth continues to move forward with its phased reopening plan, closely monitoring numbers related to COVID-19, one local construction company wants to do its part to help health care workers.
David Supple, CEO of New England Design and Construction, says it all started when he was contacted at the start of the pandemic by a client looking for extra masks for her husband’s hospital.
Supple says that’s when it really hit home for him and he realized he wanted to do something to help others. He then came up with the idea to help keep them clean.
Supple reached out to his clients with an offer to build them a "sanitization station" — a temporary shower — inside or outside their home to help protect them and their families.
A client named Sarah who is a nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital jumped at the idea, he said.
The construction company designed and installed a temporary shower station in Sarah's basement—free of charge — that provides her a place to clean off after work before going inside the home she shares with her husband and children.
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"To Sarah and all Boston doctors, nurses, health-care workers people of good will on the front lines, thank you for your courage, your care, and your willingness to selflessly help others," Supple wrote in a press release titled, "A Love Letter to Boston, Helping Boston's Superheros."
Supple wants others to know this pop-up shower option is there for them, too.
He is "hoping to be able to do it for more people because it’s something we can do,” Supple said.
While NEDC is a small business with limited resources, Supple says he is “part of a trade group" and has "colleagues I know would love to do something like this so the hope is just we can get some more people the peace of mind and help keep their families safe.”
Supple says every house and set up would be different depending on the layout, whether the shower was going inside or outside, but he says he is happy to help other health care workers looking for some added protection.
Anyone wishing to contact the company can reach them at 617-708-0676, or click here to send them a direct email.