Mountaire Farms partners with Beebe on testing

Mountaire Farms has partnered with Beebe Healthcare in recent weeks to help fight coronavirus on the Delmarva Peninsula.

The chicken company donated much-needed personal protective equipment supplies to the hospital on two occasions, and Beebe is testing all Mountaire employees for the virus.

Mountaire has donated 30,000 pounds of chicken to hospital employees who have been on the front lines of fighting this virus. Beebe employees each received a 10-pound bag of boneless chicken tenders as a thank-you gift. This latest giveaway is part of an ongoing campaign the company began last month thanking healthcare workers.

Mountaire has donated more than half a million pounds of chicken to churches, food pantries, community groups, Boys & Girls Clubs, first responders and healthcare workers. Multiple long-term care facilities have also received donated chicken from Mountaire Farms.

“Beebe has been a great partner, and we’re grateful for all they’re doing to help fight this virus,” said Phillip Plylar, president of Mountaire Farms. “To date, we’ve donated hundreds of thousands of pounds of chicken to those in our community who need it the most, and for our healthcare workers who are doing so much to help.”

Beebe officials were recently on site at the company’s Millsboro plant testing employees. A second clinic was held over a weekend for employees outside the plant. More testing is being scheduled for future dates for additional facilities.

In March, Beebe reached out to Mountaire Farms seeking PPE, and the company provided extra gloves, masks, aprons and other supplies. In the last few weeks, more supplies were provided to the hospital.

“We’re committed to this community, and it just made sense to do what we could to help our healthcare partners. Our company has tried to be as proactive as possible to prevent the spread of this virus, and every state and federal agency that has visited our facilities [Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health] has been very positive about all the steps we’ve taken on site to protect our workforce,” Plylar said. “Testing is just another step in that process to try and make sure even asymptomatic carriers of the virus stay home if they’re infected. We’re happy Beebe has been a willing partner to help us accomplish this goal.”