With the number of Covid patients in intensive care units at an all-time high, two companies from High Point, NC team up to show hospital ICU staff their appreciation
HIGH POINT, N.C. (FEB. 9, 2021) – (NYSE: CULP) Culp, Inc. partnered with REAL Kitchen & Market, a local High Point caterer, to deliver boxed lunches and gifts to three area hospitals.
“It’s been difficult to watch the effects this pandemic has had on the morale of the staff in the MICU,” said Scott West, Nurse Manager at Wake Forest Baptist Health. “We have known this pandemic was going to be a marathon, not a sprint, but I don’t think any of us thought we would still be fighting the battle for 9 months and counting. Support like this from the community means so much to the staff.”
COVID-19 has disrupted the lives of everyone in some way, and Culp, Inc. is no exception. When the pandemic first began, Culp, an upholstery and mattress textile company pivoted its operations to manufacture masks and other health-related textile products. Since then, implementing and monitoring COVID safety protocols has been paramount in keeping the company’s manufacturing facilities operating. This ongoing task falls under the leadership of Teresa Huffman, senior vice president of human resources for Culp, and mother of an Intensive Care Unit nurse.
Aware that after the holidays the number of COVID ICU patients was increasing and concerned that public support for healthcare workers was waning, Huffman wanted to find a way for Culp to show its appreciation.
Description automatically generatedKnowing that everyone enjoys a free lunch, Culp called on Lisa Wheatley, president and owner of REAL Kitchen & Market to partner with the company in this effort. “It was exciting to be a part of this project,” said Wheatley. “The medical staffs of the Intensive Care Units have been working with the most dire COVID cases day in and day out for months on end. I can’t imagine the toll it must take on them. It was nice to have the opportunity to show our gratitude for their hard work and dedication.”
In total, 145 boxed lunches and wristlet bags made from Culp fabric were delivered to the Cone Health COVID-19 Green Valley Campus, the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem, and the Intensive Care Unit at Baptist Health High Point Medical Center.
“It was an honor to meet these dedicated healthcare workers,” said Jenny Barnhill of Culp. “After the gifts had been given and our gratitude expressed, watching them walk back into the hospital to continue their shifts and keep fighting the good fight was truly a humbling experience.”
About Culp, Inc:
Culp, Inc. (NYSE: CULP) is one of the world’s largest manufacturers and marketers of mattress fabrics for bedding and upholstery fabrics for residential and commercial furniture. The company markets a variety of fabrics to its global customer base of leading bedding and furniture companies, including fabrics produced at Culp’s manufacturing facilities and fabrics sourced through other suppliers. Culp has manufacturing operations and sourcing capabilities located in the United States, Canada, China, Haiti, Turkey and Vietnam. For more information about Culp, Inc. visit www.CULP.com.
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