All afternoon on several recent days, orchardists drove to the offices of the public health district in The Dalles to pick up masks, hand sanitizer and bleach, all at no cost to them.
One of the key roles of North Central Public Health District during the COVID-19 pandemic is to serve as a distribution point for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Until recently, all of it was going to medical, dental, long term care and emergency response personnel.
But the Oregon Department of Agriculture recently gave 120,000 KN95 masks to Wasco County for agricultural use. They were dropped off May 18 by the Oregon National Guard.
Earlier, the health district purchased bleach from Burgerville, which had an excess supply, and from Bi-Mart, for a total of 370 gallons.
The health district also purchased 4,000 cloth masks with funding it received to support the health and safety of migrant and seasonal farm workers, said Teri Thalhofer, director of the health district.
The funding came from federal and state sources, as well as the Columbia Gorge Health Council, the governance board for the entity that provides Medicaid services for Wasco and Hood River counties.
“We had the means to start doing things for the community once we got funding for it,” said Nicole Bailey, who heads PPE distribution for the health district.
Estimates were made of how much each orchard would need of the items, based on employment numbers.
In its first distribution, health department staff handed out some 18,000 masks, 211 gallons of bleach, 20 cases of hand sanitizer and 3,000 cloth masks to 21 orchards. Still on hand for eventual distribution is over 100,000 KN95s, another 75 cases of hand sanitizer, and 159 gallons of bleach.
Bailey said distributions made thus far to medical, dental, long term care and emergency response has been triple that amount.
Carys Fritz, an Americorps/VITSA member working at the health district, called orchardists to offer supplies. She regularly heard, “We would love this stuff, but how much is it going to cost?” she recounted.
When she told them it was no cost, one person responded, “’Sweet lordy.’” She recounted. “They are definitely super grateful.”
Others told her they’d been trying to find those supplies but couldn’t, telling her, “’It’s kind of incredible to hear you have it, and it’s free.’”
Nearly all of them declined to take their full allotment for the period, she said, saying they didn’t want to take more than their share.
Fritz said growers had ordered supplies weeks ago, but none had come in. One orchardist said her husband was making daily trips to Portland to buy what few N95 masks he could find.
Jeanne Reeves, of Rosedale Fruit Farm in Mosier, picked up masks, bleach and hand sanitizer on a recent Friday. “It’s going to be real helpful,” she said.
Ken Hudson, of Mosier Creek Orchards, picked up hand sanitizer and cloth masks. “We actually found some bleach so we think we’re alright,” he said.
Fritz told him, “We have plenty if you run out.”
In the early days of the pandemic, Bailey, who is an environmental health supervisor, found herself tasked with sorting out PPE. She receives and tallies what is sent here by the state — which represents the vast majority of it — as well as what is purchased by the health district or Wasco County, or donated by local businesses, and then distributes it to local entities.
“We understand that PPE is a huge issue right now,” Bailey said. “We’re not exactly a supplier, but we really want to help the community as we can.”
