U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin spent Thursday, Aug. 20, in Livingston County, visiting local businesses, healthcare professionals, school leaders, and community members to hear directly how they are managing during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how they are preparing for the next steps.
At Kem Krest in Brighton, Slotkin toured the facility, an automotive supplier that saw a need in the early days of the pandemic and began producing Bulk Hand Sanitizer — including for St. Joseph Mercy Livingston Hospital.
“They jumped into the fray,” Slotkin said. “They saw a real gap in some of the supplies they needed, they jumped in and started making it, and now they’ve decided to keep going in that direction.”
Slotkin got her first post-COVID tour and update at St. Joseph Mercy Livingston Hospital in Howell.
“They’ve done tremendous work here, supported by the community,” Slotkin said. “They identified gaps in the personal protective equipment that they had in the early days, and they don’t have them anymore. They’ve been able to save up a tremendous amount (of equipment) in case of a second wave.”
Slotkin also met Nathan Burd, Livingston County’s new county administrator. She made at stop at Bridget Gallagher’s Irish Tours and Treasures in downtown Howell — owned by Marc and Michelle Harlow — which opened just days before the state shutdown, and like so many other small business owners across the district, has shown fortitude.
In Fowlerville, Slotkin met with Fowlerville Community Schools Superintendent Wayne Roedel and Fowlerville High School Principal Brad Lusk to discuss how they are adapting to learning in the COVID-19 era, and how the district is preparing to being students back to school safely. While there, Slotkin lent a hand for the Gleaners Community Food Bank Summer Feeding Program, which had hundreds of families pouring in for the bi-weekly food distribution.
