5K more N95 masks donated to Pittsburgh hospitals by North American Dental Group

Western Pennsylvania’s health care workers now have access to 5,000 more N95 respirators donated by a dental group.

North American Dental Group, which has corporate offices in Robinson and New Castle, delivered the shipment of respirators to Allegheny Health Network on Friday.

“We are proud and pleased to be able to help out the doctors, nurses and other medical professionals who are caring for their patients and battling covid-19 on the front lines during this pandemic,” Andrew Matta, chief medical officer and co-founder of the dental group, said in a statement. “Given the significant and increasing demand for PPE across the country, we leapt into action and were able to secure these N95 masks.”

The N95 respirators — which filter 95% of airborne particles — have been in short supply as health care workers strive to protect themselves and their patients from getting infected with covid-19, the highly contagious disease caused by the coronavirus.

The dental group identified the influx of N95 respirators — valued at about $35,000 — after rounding up all available protective gear across its more than 200 dental practices in 15 states. Workers doing emergency dental work at the limited offices open during the pandemic-spurred shutdown continue to be equipped with N95 masks.

On Thursday, Amazon closed off sales of N95 masks to the general public to thwart attempts at price-gouging and hoarding by those who are not health care workers or providers.

“As we continue to respond to the covid-19 pandemic, we’re working around the clock to secure the critical supplies necessary to prepare for a potential surge of patients across our facilities in the days and weeks to come,” AHN President and CEO Cynthia Hundorfean said Friday in a statement.

The dental group’s the latest contribution “speaks to the importance of organizations across every industry coming together in a time of crisis to meet the needs of our communities,” Hundorfean said.

Last week, MSA Safety Inc. partnered with Highmark’s Allegheny Health Network to secure a shipment of 65,000 N95 masks.

The region’s colleges and universities also have stepped up to locate and donate N95 masks, as have individuals such as a Fox Chapel dentist and companies such as Massaro Construction Group.

Highmark and AHN officials have said they will collaborate with a group of chief medical officers at other local hospitals in distributing the protective gear.

They also are working with Allegheny County Public Safety officials to support the supply needs of first responders.

Prior to the spread of covid-19 in Pennsylvania, the state had a little more than 1 million N95 masks in storage, according to Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine. That stock is being shipped to hospitals statewide.