SWN Energy makes donations during crisis

SWN Energy’s Mike Narcavage with Bradford County EMA Coordinator Sarah Neeley accepting the donation of N95 masks. Susquehanna County, as well as Wyoming and Lycoming counties, also received donations from SWN. PHOTO COURTESY SWN ENERGY

Southwestern Energy donated 200 N95 masks to emergency management agencies in the five counties where they have operations in the region. The personal protective equipment was delivered to EMAs in Susquehanna, Wyoming, Bradford, Tioga and Lycoming counties.

Local emergency responders will be able to request the masks as needed from the county EMA, explained Mike Narcavage, SWN Senior Government and Community Affairs Manager.

In addition to the PPE, Southwestern also contributed $1,000 to local food pantries, including the New Milford United Methodist Church’s Feed My Flock program. New Milford is in the heart of SWN’s drilling area in the county.

In addition to the New Milford church’s food pantry, the company also provided donations to the Seven Loaves Soup Kitchen in Tunkhannock; the Helping Hands food Pantry in Wyalusing; and the Weinberg food bank.

And the company’s giving didn’t stop there. After learning Girl Scouts cookie booths cancelled due to the pandemic, SWN donated 132 boxes of Girl Scout cookies to the health care workers at Tyler Hospital.

“For us it was a win-win,” Narcavage said. “We helped the Girl Scouts with the purchase and showed our appreciation to those on the front lines of the crisis.”

And when they return to their offices, SWN employees will also be welcomed back with a box of Girl Scout cookies.

As part of an essential sector, SWN has been able to continue field operations, including drilling, completion and production, according to Narcavage. “Our field operations kept going,” he said. “Others are working from home.”

He said crews have adjusted to CDC and Dept. of Health guidelines.

Employees undergo temperature checks and anyone not feeling well is immediately quarantined, Narcavage said. The cleaning process in the field and for equipment has amped up.

Workers have also adjusted to wearing face masks and have tried a variety of masks from cotton to paper to N95. “It took a while to figure out what works better,” Narcavage said, including which masks work better in for crew members when it’s rainy or hot.

“The crews are the front line of our industry,” Narcavage said. “They are showing us in the office what it is going to take (to implement CDC protocols) and have set the standard for us.”