YSU adding mobile sanitation units throughout campus
Youngstown State University is taking steps in ensuring the health and safety of students come fall semester when campus classes resume.
University President Jim Tressel said, "We're planning on face-to-face classes, social distancing, lower density in classrooms, lower density in buildings and lower density in residence halls, but we plan to be here with the Class of 2024."
Today, the university unveiled mobile hand washing units which will be placed in high traffic areas throughout campus. YSU says they're the only university thus far to install units like this.
"It's pretty well documented that the number one thing we must do is wash our hands, social distance and of course wear masks," he said.
The sanitation stations were invented by Jeff Swartz of New Middletown, the owner of a family-owned business called Personal Protected, an extension of their company Hitch-Hike Manufacturing.
Swartz said what makes the water-connected unit dependable is that it allows a high traffic amount of people to quickly and safely wash their hands on the go.
"It's something we can put right in front of them," he said. "It's not an inconvenience to make a decision to go to a bathroom."
Each unit has four sections with barriers for social distancing. The stations allow for 720 people to wash their hands per hour.
"Everybody coming up to it doing a 20-second hand wash multiplied by four... it's a neat thing," he said.
His daughter Jessica Swartz is a YSU marketing student and created the artistic graphics for each station.
"I'm still in that surreal moment because it's a little bigger than me...It feels bigger than me," she said. "This is such a big step for YSU to take and the way I've been contributing is I've been also helping to figure out a marketing plan for the business."
First Lady of YSU, Ellen Tressel, donated five of the 10 units YSU is acquiring.
"Our students are our future, and we want to make sure their future is healthy," she said.
The units will be placed in building lobbies, the WATTS center and various other areas on campus.
