McKnight Medical keeps first responders supplied
By TAYLOR BROWN
tbrown@yourmvi.com
First responders and essential workers throughout the Mon Valley will be more prepared to keep themselves and the community safe thanks to a local medical supply company.
McKnight Medical, based in Charleroi, has donated $1,000 worth of hand sanitizer to local fire and police departments, EMS agencies and other essential businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Owners Don and Piper Pieri said they felt a need to give back and help those on the front lines obtain the supplies they need.
When two pallets carrying more than 240 gallons of sanitizer arrived earlier this week, word quickly spread about the donations of the much-needed commodity.
Each bottle is enough to fill almost 30 regular-sized containers of hand sanitizer.
“Many venues are sold out and have no idea when they are going to get more supplies in,” Don Pieri said.
Deliveries and availability of masks, other personal protective equipment and products are being interrupted.
“We are spending hours on the phone, trying to find supplies and placing orders in bulk,” Don Pieri said. “Through referrals from other business owners and connections with companies, some even outside of this field, we have been able to acquire necessary products to continue supplying the Valley with everything they need.”
By Tuesday, almost the entire supply intended for essential workers and volunteers had been given away.
“We were able to help a lot of our local volunteers and first responders,” he said. “That’s what we wanted to do and they were all very grateful.
“We are grateful to be able to help.”
Still, keeping up with the demand of supplies has been difficult.
“Everyone needs masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, in addition to other medical supplies they rely on,” Don Pieri said. “We’re trying to get ahead of it.”
Since the first case of the coronavirus was reported in the region, McKnight Medical has sold more than 15,000 masks, and 10,000 will be delivered this week.
“Last week, 2,500 masks were almost gone in 24 hours,” he said.
The company started selling the masks in packages of 10 and limiting purchases to two packages per customer so everyone could have what they need.
“There would be a line out the door as soon as we opened,” he said. “People were buying 50 or 100 per person and it was leaving people without anything.”
He has been trying to order supplies in bulk to help prepare for an even larger need when the state reopens.
“My wife and I know when all of these businesses can restart they will need these supplies to open and operate,” he said. “We were concerned they would not know where to get it, so we started purchasing whatever we could. We want to have it to make sure they can have it.”
Without necessary PPE or supplies, already struggling business may not be able to reopen and comply with restrictions still in place.
“If you can’t go into a business without a mask and all employees and customers must wear one, what happens when there are none?” he said. “We want to make sure that does not happen.”
They currently have everything in stock, with more shipments soon to be delivered.
“Right now we have 240 reusable masks, 10,000 surgical masks on the way, about 110 gallons of hand sanitizer and a few cases each of various sizes of gloves,” he said.
Because the hand sanitizer is in such a large quantity, McKnight will be selling it to the public by the ounce.
“We have 400 smaller bottles ordered, but will be allowing the public to bring in their own dispenser and we will fill it for $1 per ounce,” he said. “Hand sanitizer is probably the hardest thing to come across right now, so we want to do whatever we can to make sure it is available.
“We’re trying to order another pallet just to be safe.”
When McKnight runs out of a supply, particularly masks, the company takes contact information for customers and lets them know when it is back in stock.
In addition to keeping the shelves stocked for the public, McKnight continues to deliver equipment to various facilities, primarily hospice care.
“We have 10 drivers that are out every day, 24/7, delivering this essential equipment to people who need it,” he said. “We are delivering and donating to facilities that, we are finding out, have been where this virus has taken hold.”
His employees, both in-house and drivers are taking necessary precautions to keep themselves safe as they come in potential contact with the virus.
“We are part of the first responders,” he said. “That is why we felt this need to give back.”
Employees are nervous, but show up to work.
“Our business, like everyone else, has taken a hit. We locked out doors for one month to protect our employees, started taking orders and payments over the phone, and are very fortunate none of our employees have gotten sick,” he said. “Our people are nervous and definitely have anxiety about going in to make these deliveries. While they are protected as they can be, it is nerve wracking. We recognize this and felt an obligation to give back to other first responders feeling the same way.”
Piper Pieri said she is proud of the staff at both the Charleroi and Oakmont locations.
“We are so proud of our employees who have come to work every day, risking their health and their families health to help in any way they can,” she said. “It has been amazing to see how many dedicated people we have working for us, selling medical equipment and delivering it to those who need it. We have people trudging through this to make sure we take care of as many people as we can.”
McKnight Medical has locations at 11 McKean Ave. in Charleroi and 329 Pennsylvania Ave. in Oakmont.
For questions or ordering information, call the Charleroi office at 724-489-4011, the Oakmont office at 412-820-0448 or go to the McKnight Medical Facebook page.
Both locations are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.
