Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach shipped 100,000 respiratory masks to Guatemala in response to a specific request from an aid agency responding to the deadly eruption of the Fuego volcano.
A shipment of respiratory masks from a ministry aid organization will help rescue and recovery workers breathe more safely in the aftermath of a catastrophic eruption of Guatemala's Fuego volcano. The volcano became active June 3 and its repeated eruptions inundated villages with debris, lava and ash.
According to the Reuters news agency, the June eruptions killed more than 100 people, and more than 300 people were missing, as of July 4. The Fuego volcano is in southcentral Guatemala near Antigua. There have been few news reports to come out of the area since June and the exact number of fatalities is not known.
Food for the Poor, an international relief organization, had requested the donation of masks from Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach of Springfield, Ill., The shipment of 100,000 respiratory masks arrived in Guatemala June 27.
The Mission Outreach medical surplus recovery and redistribution program sent the single-use masks from its inventory. Mission Outreach collects medical supplies for donation from more than 70 hospitals in the Midwest, including Hospital Sisters Health System facilities.
Food for the Poor has been distributing the masks to shelters, hospitals and clinics and rescue and relief organizations.
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