Endy gives mattresses to Vancouver hospital

VANCOUVER – Direct-to-consumer mattress retailer Endy donated enough mattresses, pillows and mattress protectors to enable frontline workers in the intensive and critical care units (ICU and CCU) at St. Paul’s Hospital here to snatch a few hours rest after long shifts with no breaks and unable to leave.

According to a report in the Georgia Straight, a local weekly newspaper, the retailer made the donation after receiving a plea for help from consulting anesthesiologist Dr. Shannon Lockhart. St. Paul’s ICU staff was restructured to meet the needs of onslaught on COVID-19 pandemic patients, with an ongoing need to spend nights in the hospital. At that moment, all the had was a couple of old, uncomfortable mattresses in call rooms, forcing some medical staff to turn to plastic hospital stretchers and even hallways for sleep between shifts.

“Imagine working a long shift in a busy hospital, on your feet for hours at a time with no breaks, trying to provide the best possible care for COVID-19 patients. When you finally have a chance to rest between shifts, you have to choose between a thin plastic mattress, or a stretcher in the hospital hallway,” the retailer, a subsidiary of Sleep Country Canada Holdings, said on its Instagram post.

“Their current situation needed to change, and we knew we could help,” they continued, adding, “We are honoured to partner with St. Paul’s Hospital to donate enough mattresses, pillows, and mattress protectors to help their frontline healthcare workers get the sleep they need to fight for all of us – and win.”

While Endy is based in Toronto, it operated a major distribution centre in the Vancouver suburb of Delta.