(PRESS RELEASE) WALTHAM, MA — BVI, the fastest-growing diversified company in ophthalmology, has partnered with Haywood Vocational Opportunities (HVO) to provide isolation gowns to US healthcare workers on the front lines of the pandemic effort. HVO is a US based medical product manufacturer who provides vocational training and employment opportunities for adults with disadvantages and disabilities. The partnership took form during the late spring in response to the shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Through outstanding teamwork between the organizations, an isolation gown was designed, tested, manufactured, and ultimately released to the market in less than 3 months which is unprecedented for a company in the ophthalmic industry. The first recipients of the US-made gowns are healthcare workers throughout North Carolina, where HVO is based.
“As a partner to healthcare service providers, we are very excited to continue our support of front line workers and to support local economies with job creation. I am very proud of the speed at which our two organizations took an idea from concept to final product introduction,” said Shervin Korangy, president and CEO of BVI.
“COVID-19 cases in North Carolina were increasing rapidly back in April when BVI came to us. We quickly jumped to action and helped jointly develop the isolation gown and started retraining our workforce,” said Audrey S. Gaddis, president of HVO. “We were able to grow our capabilities for our workforce, which was truly a blessing during this surge in unemployment across the country. Thank you to BVI for driving this, HVO is honored to partner with BVI to support our front-line workers.”