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UTSA donates protective equipment to local health care workers

UTSA donates protective equipment to local health care workers

APRIL 3, 2020 — To help health care workers on the front lines of the coronavirus battle in San Antonio, the UTSA research community has made a sizable donation of personal protective equipment to sister institution UT Health San Antonio. The highly valued supplies will help contribute to the personal safety and well-being of health care workers and physicians at UT Health San Antonio’s medical facilities. 

In March UT Health San Antonio’s Office of the Vice President for Research contacted UTSA upon realizing there would be a critical need for PPE to protect medical officials against exposure to the virus. Within 45 minutes of the call UTSA Director of Laboratory Safety and Compliance Amanda Haley formulated a team of individuals across the university with the capacity to quickly pull together the protective materials that health care workers would need to serve San Antonio and the surrounding areas. 

“UTSA is committed to tackling the grand challenges facing our community, and COVID-19 is a formidable threat,” said Bernard Arulanandam, UTSA’s vice president for research, economic development, and knowledge enterprise. “When UT Health called, our staff immediately went to work to gather as much protective gear as we had available to give. We have an amazing group of people working at UTSA and they made it possible to quickly adhere to the call.” 


“UTSA is committed to tackling the grand challenges facing our community, and COVID-19 is a formidable threat.”



Researchers from several areas around campus, including biomedical engineering, chemistry, anthropology, and occupational health and lab safety, provided generous donations. In all, UTSA is supplying UT Health San Antonio with:

  • General items: safety glasses (363), surgical masks (1,850), hair nets (2,510), shoe covers (1,580), surgical sleeves (1,700), gowns (259), cotton-tipped applicators (2,250), alcohol prep pads (1,600), face shields (225), disposable lab coats (250), gloves (14,176).
  • Chemicals: ethyl alcohol (4.5 gallons), isopropyl alcohol (3 gallons), bleach (4 gallons).

“We are very grateful to UTSA for the donation of these supplies at such a critical time,” said Jennifer Sharpe Potter, professor of psychiatry and vice dean for research at the Long School of Medicine of UT Health San Antonio. 

Members of the health, research and scientific communities who would like to donate supplies to UT Health San Antonio are encouraged to share (original, unopened items are preferred but not required) commercially made N95 respirator masks and other face masks, including surgical masks and masks used by painters, carpenters and hobbyists; commercially made medical or disposable gloves; eye protection goggles (no swim goggles); face shields; and thermometers.

Pamela Lutrell



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of The University of Texas at San Antonio.

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UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.


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UTSA’s Mission

The University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.

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To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.

UTSA’s Core Values

We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.

UTSA’S Destinations

UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .

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The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.