In times when communities are feeling torn apart and the world seems bleak, we need to come together more than ever before to help. At ContourMD, we have seen local communities transform from bright and lively into isolated places that just don’t feel like home. We knew that while others panicked and worried about what … Continued

In times when communities are feeling torn apart and the world seems bleak, we need to come together more than ever before to help. At ContourMD, we have seen local communities transform from bright and lively into isolated places that just don’t feel like home. We knew that while others panicked and worried about what to do, we could do something to help.

As a result, we decided to provide USA-made PPE masks for those in the front lines and in our communities to help everyone stay safe and protected. Though we have been serving customers across the country for many years, we knew we needed to do more during the Covid-19 pandemic. Let us tell you our story about how we decided to give back in whatever way we could.

A Time of Need

At the start of 2020, the world seemed to be entering a state of flux, but nothing seemed completely out of the ordinary. By March, the world was shuddering as waves of COVID-19 began to strike around the world. It seemed like it was just a matter of time until Covid-19 came to ravage America. When the first wave of the virus hit, we were as shocked as anyone else in the country. The nation was not ready for such large-scale panic and need that created a sense of hopelessness across the country.

In our own home of Kansas City, every business was closing its doors and the hospitals were bracing for what was to come over the coming months. Nobody could have expected at the beginning of the year that we would still be in a lockdown state and not able to get back to our normal lives after such a long time in isolation. To make matters worse, our nation’s front-line workers were short on masks and nobody knew what to do.

When the time of need came, ContourMD had to answer the call in any way we could, which we found to be PPE and mask production. After we tell you a little bit about who we are, we want to tell you how we gave back to our community through PPE production in more detail.

Contour MD and Who We Are

ContourMD is a leading provider in the healthcare industry for providing post-surgical compression garments. We provide top-notch quality garments due to our FDA Registered facility, A+ rating with the BBB, and passion for helping those in need. With accountability, reliability, and relationships at the forefront of our business, we have been providing post-surgery patients with garments for almost 40 years. Though we have an impressive track record for the last few decades, we want to continue to improve so we can be a world-class manufacturer within the medical device industry.

Though post-surgical compression garments may seem like a rather small industry, we know our customers appreciate every hour of work we put into creating and delivering the best products possible. Many post-surgery patients, from cancer survivors to new mothers, see benefits from compression garments. When someone is recovering from surgery, their bodies are more sensitive than usual and are also more susceptible to complications. It is our goal to make sure everyone can recover at their own pace and not have to fear some of the unpleasantries that are traditionally associated with post-surgery recovery.

The reason we are the brand of choice for so many operations is because we design our products to be an extension of your body and not something that inhibits it. For example, many of our compression products are specially designed to hug the body just right so that you feel comfortable and protected all day long. We use innovative materials and sewing techniques to maximize comfort and affordability you can rely on. Professionals and customers alike trust our process and help us to exceed expectations and deliver outstanding products with every order.

With such a focus placed on our customers we felt it was essential to make our products right here in America. When our customers get products made in their home country, we can rest easy knowing that love and care is going into every unit. To help spread even more love and care, we also make it essential to get out and help our community. Even under normal circumstances, we are a company that will take any chance for community service we can find.

How We’re Giving Back

Even though we are a small team, we feel that giving back to the community and customers is a top priority. Every member of our team is always ready to help the local Kansas City community with service projects or just helping neighbors in a time of need. Every customer is part of the family, and we feel that there is no such thing as showing too much love to your family.

Even beyond providing support for our customers, we also have been leaders in humanitarian efforts in local communities. This allows us to give back to our community, not just those in need of our products. We use manufacturing incentives and help Veterans find jobs.  Though this may seem like an odd task for a simple garment producer, we know that everyone needs a little bit of help. Even if they don’t need post-surgical garments per say, we try our best to reach individuals in our community to make everyone feel better.

At no time has it felt more important to give back than right now. As the nation is recovering and trying to deal with an escalating pandemic, we couldn’t stand by without helping in any way we could. So, we applied our service-centered attitude to a different sector in the medical device industry: PPE items. We’ve also been working with Kansas City public services and charities to get PPE in the hands of those who need it most, as well as hiring more people locally in order to ensure that Americans have quick access to PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Giving Back with Covid-19

ContourMD was in a unique position when Covid-19 first hit home as we were already producing high-quality garments that were made with medical grade materials. While getting our normal customers the surgical recovery garments they needed was still a priority, we realized we had the tools and potential to give back on a much larger scale. In a relatively short amount of time, we were able to change our production facilities just enough so that they could now start to produce essential masks and PPE for those on the frontlines.

This sudden shift in production did not happen overnight, but we knew it had to be done. Such a large shortage of basic supplies meant that there were hospitals and nursing homes at risk of spreading the virus. No matter what it took, we knew we had the machines and the team to see this project through until the end. So, we made a 3-month investment in raw materials for the job. The Kansas City medical workers needed our help, and we were glad to answer the call.

We produced PPE materials with a specific focus on N95, KN95, and 3-ply surgical masks. All masks were produced within a USA-based FDA registered facility. All facilities met ISO 9000 and 13485 standards, ensuring the masks were completely safe and free of contaminants. These PPE materials were then shipped to medical personnel who had been without proper resources, helping those in the front line stay safe amidst this devastating pandemic.

As we produced more masks, we also provided more local work within our home state of Kansas. The pandemic caused a 1000% increase in jobless claims in the state, so we refused to outsource our work. This allowed us to provide jobs to community members who needed to support their family despite the terrible state of the nation. Even our shipping was handled with local shipping partners, further providing jobs for those in our local communities.

Since we are in the business of helping people, we had to help our fellow citizens, friends, and family members. We felt this was a worthy way to help when it was needed most. Even if we could only produce what our equipment let us, we knew that every last mask and piece of protective equipment was needed more than ever. As time has gone on, we have still been able to do our best to help our community back on its feet with every mask that rolled off the production line and job we provided.

How We Helped Others

Once the initial wave hit and hospitals were able to manage the influx of patients, we realized our job was far from complete. There was still an entire city in lockdown that needed to be ready to open back up in a safe manner. Local businesses were struggling without business and would not be able to survive without essential masks and supplies to reopen safely. Being a family-owned business ourselves, we know how important it is to provide a local business healthcare Covid-19 response that helps those like us.

We have kept our mask production going and made a capital investment in the production for two reasons: to protect those on the frontline and get our local businesses back in operation. Local businesses need all the help they can get, and we knew we were able to make the masks they needed to do that. Even if we could just help one business get through this, it would have been all worth it.

In an effort to keep production running strong, we realized that even the normal people in our communities would like to buy masks. The positive relationships we had in the community really came to life as we saw old friends and dedicated customers coming to us for masks. Our goal is to provide enough people with masks so local businesses can open and remain open at the end of 2020.

We Believe Local Businesses Can Make a Difference

If you would have told our management team that we would be producing masks instead of quality recovery support in January, they would probably have laughed at you. As it seems is the case with nearly every city and town in America, the reality we live in is nothing like the one anyone could have seen coming. As a small business that was founded on family values and not corporate deadlines, we were working with the likes of Tesla and Apple to help make essential supplies. This was a humbling and inspiring opportunity for us.

All we knew going into this is that we had the potential to help our community and would let nothing get in our way. The enthusiasm every member of our team has for delivering great garments for recovering patients was immediately transferred when we realized that other markets needed our help. Change often shows how strong a company really is, and the changes we made this past year show our true colors. We hope other local businesses were able to do the same around the country so everyone could feel the love that we provided to our neighbors.

Whether you came to us looking for comfort after surgery or protection before going grocery shopping, we want you to know how much we appreciate your support. Companies like ContourMD could not exist without a passionate and generous community that is eager to rally around them. All we hope is that we can return the favor in any way possible.