Adam Momper from UVA Health received the masks from Lingshan Charity Foundation. Photo credit: Coe Sweet
UVA Health received a shipment on Friday with 50,000 facemasks donated by Lingshan Charity Foundation, a Chinese philanthropic organization. The facemasks donated by the Foundation will help boost the health system’s supply of personal protective equipment for its front-line providers.
The Foundation, which has several long-term charitable projects in Ethiopia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Nepal, said the donation is a way for them to express gratitude.
“We received medical supplies from the United States and other countries when our healthcare workers were battling the novel coronavirus in China,” said Di Sun, a spokesperson for the Foundation. “It is our turn to give back to the community.”
So far, the Foundation has donated 180,000 protective masks to healthcare institutions and universities in the United States and France, hoping to play their part in this collective struggle of human society.
This is the second donation of masks UVA Health has received from the Chinese community during the coronavirus outbreak. Last month, the community made a donation facilitated by UVA alumni, faculty and parents in China and Charlottesville. One of the UVA alumni who helped to lead the first effort helped connect the Buddhist Foundation to UVA. UVA Health leaders said they are appreciative of the donation to bolster the supply chain of PPE for the healthcare workers.
"We are overwhelmed by the generosity of our global community,” said Dr. Tracey Hoke, chief of quality and performance improvement at UVA Health. "It is true that we all have a critical role to play in this pandemic—whether it be to shelter in place with care, or to share resources at hand, or to deliver world-class healthcare. These donations are an important part of our community’s response to COVID-19 and we are grateful for the partnership.”
Following donations like this one from Lingshan foundation, UVA Health is requesting community donations of personal protective equipment be directed to other healthcare organizations in the Charlottesville area. UVA Health is working with groups of volunteers in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, to coordinate the collection and delivery of personal protective equipment for local healthcare workers.
“In this time of physical distancing and fear of the pandemic, this kind of assistance is an excellent reminder that we’re going to make progress against common threats only by strengthening our bonds and working together across borders,” said Stephen Mull, Vice Provost for Global Affairs.