Public-Private Effort Bringing 360,000 Masks To Pittsburgh Area

PITTSBURGH, PA - More than 360,000 face masks are on their way to essential health and human services workers in the Pittsburgh area via a public and private sector partnership and $750,000 in donations from the region's corporate and philanthropic communities.

The Allegheny Conference on Community Development is managing the donations. The manufacturing and distribution effort is being coordinated by two local entities, American Textile Company and Global Links.

American Textile Company is a nearly century-old Mon Valley-based textile manufacturer that has facilities in Duquesne, Georgia, Texas and Utah. The company manufactured the masks to standards developed in cooperation with the Allegheny County Health Department.

“Pittsburghers have always come together to solve tough problems with ingenuity and creativity, and that’s exactly what we are doing here with the public, private and nonprofit sectors partnering to make an impact for the greater good,” American Textile Company president and CEO Lance Ruttenberg said in a release. “American Textile is honored to be able to play a
role in putting our region’s people first as we all address the COVID-19 crisis."

Global Links, a Pittsburgh-based medical relief agency, is receiving the supplies and managing distribution with guidance from the Allegheny County Health Department, the county Human Services Department and public health and human services agencies in surrounding counties.

“Through a uniquely Pittsburgh partnership, we are leveraging Global Links’ 30 years of experience in managing and distributing healthcare supplies to get these emergency masks in the hands of those who need them most,” Angela Garcia, Global Links executive director, said in a statement.

While the masks are not FDA-approved N95 respirators, their use in the right applications allows the limited supply of medical-grade respirators to be allocated where they are needed most.