Company in north Arkansas giving away thousands of masks to community

The pandemic has interrupted Tom Cooper’s sleep schedule.

"I've spent a lot of days waking up in the middle of the night trying to see what else I could do to help," Cooper said.

He owns DrMet Biomedical and Laser Services in Springdale and Mountain Home. His company typically prepares and maintains medical equipment, not supplies, but he knew his connections in China could make a difference.

"I reached out to and been supplying masks to hospitals in northern Arkansas and to my surgery centers that we've maintained," Cooper said.

He has sold about 100,000 of those masks at cost, between $1 to $1.50 each. But he knows many people, especially older ones, will need masks too, as Gov. Asa Hutchinson starts rolling out plans to reopen the state.

"This kind of laid on my heart. I pulled my team together and asked my team what they thought about it, and everybody jumped on board," Cooper said.

He has about 5,000 masks on hand he plans to give away to people on Thursday and Friday. Ozark Eye Center is also handing out 500 masks in addition to that in Mountain Home.

"I wanted things to go back to the way they were. And I just pray for everybody. I just want to get past this," he said.

People will get one pack with five masks inside. First come, first served. Cooper knows there’s greater demand than that, but it’s a gesture he hopes will help him and hundreds of people sleep a little easier at night.

"It's kind of a lose-lose situation unfortunately. The economy has to open back up, but I'm afraid lives will be lost. And this is what I can do to help," Cooper said.

Here's the information for people who would like a mask:

On Thursday, April 30, we will be handing out masks free of charge between 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Mountain Home location will be Ozark Eye Center, 360 AR-5 Mountain Home, AR, 72763

NWA location will be DrMet Biomedical and Laser Services, 3101 American Street Suite C Springdale, AR, 72764.

On Friday, May 1, we will be handing out masks free of charge between 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Mountain Home location will be Ozark Eye Center, 360 AR-5 Mountain Home, AR, 72763

NWA location will be DrMet Biomedical and Laser Services, 3101 American Street Suite C Springdale, AR, 72764

Look for the DrMet van.