Ascension Wisconsin Now Accepting Homemade Masks
In response to recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Ascension Wisconsin is now accepting homemade facemasks of any pattern. Ascension Wisconsin will make donated cloth face coverings available to community members as an effort to slow the spread of the virus and ensure critical Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) can be reserved for healthcare workers as recommended by current CDC guidance.
CDC now recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, especially in areas of significant community based transmission. The use of simple cloth face coverings fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials at low cost are being used by the public as an additional voluntary public health measure.
Individuals using homemade masks should be careful not to touch their eyes, nose, and mouth when removing their face covering and wash hands immediately after removing it while continuing to practice appropriate social distancing. Further, it is critically important for individuals receiving homemade masks to launder them prior to initial use and then continue to launder it daily. Failure to do so may increase your risk of illness.
This link provides a pattern approved by the CDC, but any mask pattern is acceptable. (https://www.cdc.gov/
Ascension Wisconsin asks that all handmade masks be delivered clean, packaged in a resealable plastic bag with the quantity in the bag clearly labeled.
Those interested in donating handmade masks to any hospital or clinic within Ascension Wisconsin are asked to send an email to ascensionwifoundations@