AMHERST, N.Y. – Daemen College has donated 8,000 gloves to Kaleida Health in response to the critical shortage of personal protective equipment for local health care providers as the Buffalo Niagara region deals with the coronavirus pandemic.

“Western New York is facing an unprecedented need for personal protective equipment for health care workers, including many Daemen graduates, who are on the front-lines in the fight against the coronavirus,” said Dr. Michael Brogan, senior vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college. “We will do whatever we can to help keep our health care professionals safe as we come together as a community to deal with the coronavirus crisis.”

More than 75 boxes of gloves have been provided to Kaleida by the Daemen Natural Sciences Department, which normally uses the gloves for courses such as organic chemistry and molecular biology. Since the college moved classes online due to the coronavirus pandemic, the gloves are not being used by students and faculty for in-person classes in science laboratory spaces.

Donations of the gloves comes as a time as the number of coronavirus cases continue to rise in Western New York and across New York State.

“Our department is proud to be able to assist in protecting the brave men and women in health care who are dealing daily with this national health crisis,” said Dr. Diane Ramos, chairperson of the Daemen Natural Sciences Department.