To Everyone at Nadine West,
I hope this message finds you and your loved ones well.
1. In our team update from March 22, Sidney and I wanted to first express our gratitude for being part of such an amazing team. The NW team is smart, hard-working, creative, and you are always there to help each other out. With a team like that, Nadine West will survive anything.
2. Also, in our last team update, we wanted to remind everyone that this, too, shall pass. As long as we stick together and work towards a common goal, we’ll not only survive, but we’ll emerge stronger than ever.
So what’s the latest, specifically in Austin?
1. We are cautiously optimistic that the social distancing measures established in the Austin area are starting to work. The COVID case count is growing, but it’s still under 200, with zero deaths in Central Texas (Austin). While that could change quickly, we welcome the continued good news.
2. The warehouse decided to make a big change this week, as the official Nadine West response to the COVID crisis. We decided that Nadine West will start producing surgical face masks to protect the elderly and to protect health care workers.
Starting this week, our primary warehouse is temporarily shifting production away from outfits — and towards surgical face masks. (A second, auxiliary warehouse will be set up soon, to take over some production and distribution of outfits.)
On Tuesday, we bought supplies. On Wednesday, we tested prototypes. And on Thursday, we set up a production line. Now, our goal is to ramp up to 1,000 face masks daily over the next couple of weeks.
We already have requests from Emory University Hospital, NY Presbyterian Hospital, Cook County Hospital, Westminster Nursing home, and a number of smaller, local clinics and individuals.
Here are some photos of our beautiful, *make-shift* production line and some of our first face masks off the new line.
What do our members think about this news?
We posted a message to our Facebook page about the possible delay in outfits while our primary warehouse shifts to producing face masks. The comments our members left were inspiring, heart-warming, and occasionally, eye-watering.
Here are a few of the comments left by members today.
As always, please give us feedback. We would like to hear your ideas. Take care and stay safe.
Warmest Wishes,
Ben and Sidney