Local sewing community produces scrub caps for Victoria nurses

Local sewing community produces scrub caps for Victoria nurses
Cloth Castle / Facebook
Cloth Castle, a Langford-based fabric store, reached out to its community requesting medical scrub caps and they responded in a big way!

One phrase that has been used a lot throughout the COVID-19 pandemic is ‘we are in this together.’ Although it might sound cliché, it is in these trying times that the Vancouver Island community has shown ‘together’ can make a major difference and recently, some local sewers did their part to help front line workers.

Health care workers continue to carry the load on the front lines during the fight against the deadly virus, however, the growing demand for scarce medical supplies continues to present challenges.

That sparked health authorities at both Royal Jubilee Hospital and Victoria General Hospital to reach out to Cloth Castle, a locally-owned fabric store in Langford, with a request for scrub caps.

In a Facebook post to its community of sewers, Cloth Castle said that the health care authorities who asked for help were not only looking for medical supplies to keep nurses safe but hoping “to provide a sense of belonging, joy and positivity.”

The special request made to Cloth Castle also asked for the caps to have a special button attached so nurses could remove medical masks without touching their faces.

“These caps are so important because it keeps Nurses’ hair protected and out of their face, and their ears will not suffer skin irritation and breakdown from wearing face masks all day. And when they remove the mask, the caps allow so that Nurses do not need to touch directly on their skin,” read the initial request from health authorities.

The fabric store sent the request to sewers, along with the details of how to make DIY scrub cabs, on Tuesday, March 31. Less than a week later, 88 unique and incredibly colourful scrub caps were delivered to Royal Jubilee Hospital.

Delivery of unique scrub caps to Royal Jubilee Hospital

Selena Hebig, the health care worker responsible for organizing the request to Cloth Castle, posted a picture on Facebook on Sunday, April 5 of the received shipment of masks.

According to Hebig, the nurses in Victoria have absolutely loved the new, stylish caps.

“The response at the hospital has been overwhelming. Everything from nurses, doctors, housekeepers, food delivery, it brought happiness to all. And I have many friends on other floors at the hospital that want them,” said Hebig.

The initial request had sought 150 scrub caps for Victoria health care workers. With 88 already delivered, Cloth Castle has reached back out looking for additional help from anyone interested in getting involved and lending their sewing talents.

This is just one of the many ways the local community has come together to offer support during the COVID-19 crisis

 

Graham CoxGraham Cox

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