HIGH POINT, N.C. (FEB. 9, 2021) – (NYSE: CULP) Culp, Inc. partnered with REAL Kitchen & Market, a local High Point caterer, to deliver boxed lunches and gifts to three area hospitals.
“It’s been difficult to watch the effects this pandemic has had on the morale of the staff in the MICU,” said Scott West, Nurse Manager at Wake Forest Baptist Health. “We have known this pandemic was going to be a marathon, not a sprint, but I don’t think any of us thought we would still be fighting the battle for 9 months and counting. Support like this from the community means so much to the staff.”
COVID-19 has disrupted the lives of everyone in some way, and Culp, Inc. is no exception. When the pandemic first began, Culp, an upholstery and mattress textile company pivoted its operations to manufacture masks and other health-related textile products. Since then, implementing and monitoring COVID safety protocols has been paramount in keeping the company’s manufacturing facilities operating. This ongoing task falls under the leadership of Teresa Huffman, senior vice president of human resources for Culp, and mother of an Intensive Care Unit nurse.
Aware that after the holidays the number of COVID ICU patients was increasing and concerned that public support for healthcare workers was waning, Huffman wanted to find a way for Culp to show its appreciation.
Knowing that everyone enjoys a free lunch, Culp called on Lisa Wheatley, president and owner of REAL Kitchen & Market to partner with the company in this effort. “It was exciting to be a part of this project,” said Wheatley. “The medical staffs of the Intensive Care Units have been working with the most dire COVID cases day in and day out for months on end. I can’t imagine the toll it must take on them. It was nice to have the opportunity to show our gratitude for their hard work and dedication.”
In total, 145 boxed lunches and wristlet bags made rom Culp fabric were delivered to the Cone Health COVID-19 Green Valley Campus, the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem, and the Intensive Care Unit at Baptist Health High Point Medical Center.
“It was an honor to meet these dedicated healthcare workers,” said Jenny Barnhill of Culp.“ After the gifts had been given and our gratitude expressed, watching them walk back into the hospital to continue their shifts and keep fighting the good fight was truly a humbling experience."
Nursing Staff of the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem, NC
Jenny Barnhill (Culp, Inc.) delivering wristlet bags made from Culp fabric to Samantha Cooper, Interim Assistant Director of Nursing at Cone Health Green Valley Campus.
Samantha Cooper, Interim Assistant Director of Nursing at Cone Health Green Valley Campus receiving boxed lunches from Lisa Wheatley, owner of REAL Kitchen and Market.
From left to right: Cyndi Lockhart (REAL Kitchen & Market), Jenny Barnhill (Culp, Inc.), Laura Henson (Nurse Manager at Wake Forest Baptist Health High Point Medical Center), Teresa Huffman (Culp, Inc.), and Lisa Wheatley (REAL Kitchen & Market)
Wristlet bags made with Culp fabric.
Nursing staff of Intensive Care Unit at Wake Forest Baptist Health High Point Medical Center.
From left to right: Lisa Wheatley, owner of REAL Kitchen & Market with Teresa Huffman, Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Culp, Inc.
Boxed lunch from REAL Kitchen & Market, located in High Point, NC.
