On April 29, the Business Health Trust, an association health plan serving small businesses throughout Washington state, and the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce began a four-day statewide distribution of portable hand sanitizer stands and other supplies, including disinfectant solution, gloves, and masks, to 500 small businesses.
We provide small companies with options for healthcare for their companies, but beyond that, our core value is being a resource to our state’s employers. During this time, that looks like providing physical resources like hand sanitizer to support employees and employers, and to keep workers healthy, said Business Health Trust Executive Director Sarai Childs.
Business Health Trust and the Seattle Metro Chamber teamed up with a Washington-based manufacturer to produce the portable stations with hand sanitizer. When we heard that there was a need, we immediately re-tooled our shop and began producing hand sanitizer stands that can serve our state, says Scott Smith from Clean Shop Supply in Yakima, WA.
Businesses across the state donated resources, provided financial support, and offered warehouse space for distribution. These companies include Premera Blue Cross, Challenge Seattle, Key Trucking (Kent), S Point Tire (Seattle), Plastic Sales &8 Service (Lynnwood), Cut Rate Auto Parts (Lacey), Screen Tek (Liberty Lake), Armstrong Maintenance (Edmonds), and Farwest Fabricators (Yakima).
This effort is specifically geared toward small businesses who do not have access to the supply chains and resources of larger businesses. We are in construction and beginning to re-open. Without these supplies, we wouldn’t have been able to safely get back to work. Business Health Trust has been a huge help in keeping us informed and also connecting us to tangible solutions like this, said Seattle-based Rhino Construction.