SLECA Donates N95 Masks to TGMC

Since the COVID-19 pandemic reached the Bayou Region, local entities have stepped up to help our community — from offering free meals to starting emergency relief funds, and even by placing signs of support. 

Yesterday, another local business chose to help out in a huge way. 

South Louisiana Electric Cooperative Association (SLECA) donated 180 N95 face masks to the Terrebonne General Medical Center’s (TGMC) respiratory department. 

A fortunate set of circumstances led TGMC to acquire the greatly needed masks. 

A TGMC associate reached out to her friend at SLECA to see if they had the N95 masks, said Joe Ticheli, SLECA General Manager. “My employee came to me and I said, ‘I don’t know. Let’s check our warehouse.’ And sure enough, we checked the warehouse, and we had 180 of those masks,” he continued. 

Ticheli said the company has had them since the swine flu pandemic and fortunately never had to use them. They checked expiration dates on the masks too, he noted. 

His employee’s friend was “absolutely in tears” when she heard the news, Ticheli said. “Thank God we had them,” he added. 

To make the exchange, the TGMC representative who picked up the boxes made no contact with Ticheli or his staff, to adhere to social distancing, he said. 

“I’m so happy we had those [N95 masks] just sitting there,” he continued. “They have already been put to good use.”