As COVID-19 continues to impact communities across the globe, companies are stepping in to lend support. Kimball International has been leveraging its core business of manufacturing healthcare furniture solutions, in addition to using existing talent and resources to manufacture Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), for those in need in the communities in which we operate, starting in our headquarters hometown of Jasper, Indiana.
The company first reached out to local hospitals to offer support – and were met with an enthusiastically positive response.
“What started with a simple phone call to our local hospital, turned into an opportunity for our company to partner with employees to fulfill a real healthcare need, in our own small and unique way,” said Lonnie Nicholson, Kimball International’s Chief Human Resources Officer.
Kimball International leadership and team members got to work, and organized employee volunteers for a group assembly in the Memorial Hospital parking garage. Employees were able to assemble 100 tables to donate to Memorial Hospital in just under three hours.
In addition to the 100 tables donated to Memorial Hospital, Kimball International reached out to other communities and 50 more tables were assembled by team members in Salem, Indiana and donated to St. Vincent Ascension hospital. 60 more tables are being prepared for donation in another company community, Danville, Kentucky.
“We were overjoyed with the chance to help,” said Stan Wendholt, Director of Sales Operations at Kimball.
“We have a new respect for our installers because table assembly also includes the hard work of unboxing, unpackaging, and uncrating! We had fun together of course, and it felt good working to support our local healthcare heroes.”
After the donation in Jasper, nurses and medical staff at Memorial Hospital shared that their new tables are being placed outside of every third patient room door to hold additional sanitizing supplies and personal protective equipment.
Furniture donations are only one of the several other ways that Kimball International and its employees are supporting the local communities:
• Kimball International is utilizing R&D and manufacturing resources to produce personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical professionals on the front lines of the crisis. Employees designed and produced thousands of face shields for medical professionals serving on the front lines in hospitals and long-term care facilities.
• Employees across Kimball International have been working hard to sew hundreds of protective masks for local hospitals and long-term care facilities.
• Santa Claus, Indiana employees combined resources to donate 200 Blizzards from Dairy Queen to the Perry County Hospital to bring some joy and cheer to their local healthcare professionals.
• In addition to the table and face mask donations in Salem, Kimball International-Habig Foundation made a $2,500 donation to the Hoosier Helpers non-profit in Salem, Indiana to support with local meal deliveries to the homebound.
• Kimball International employees assembled and delivered nine care box “kits” to various Dubois County long-term care facilities in Jasper, Huntingburg, and Ferdinand. Each kit includes resources for operation, safety and just a little bit of “joy and gratitude” including iPads, face shields, caramel corn and a “Thank You to our Healthcare Heroes” yard sign.
• The Kimball International Jasper Avenue facility team members produced protective caps for donation at
Memorial Hospital because healthcare professionals there are now required to wear a head covering as well. Kimball International employees delivered the protective caps along with an encouraging “Thank you” banner, which will be visible at the employee entrance.
“I am inspired and humbled by these giving stories,” said Lonnie Nicholson, Kimball International’s Chief Human Resources Officer, “because it truly demonstrates our company’s purpose – to be makers of possibility. We are proud to have been a part of helping our communities during this time of need – to help make it possible for them to care for others. We look forward to continuing to identify ways to support all communities in which we operate.”
