LOS ANGELES (CNS) — A nonprofit organization created to raise funds for personal protective equipment has delivered 3,000 reusable face shields for frontline healthcare workers at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.
The face shields were donated by several Los Angeles-based companies and philanthropists, including Peter Lowy, a former co-CEO of the shopping mall owner Westfield Corp., the Homeland Security Advisory Council of Los Angeles, which Lowy chairs, the financial firm Aspiration and the shoemaker Tieks.
The shields were manufactured by Northridge-based Arete, which transitioned its entire workforce from making movie props to producing medical equipment during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Emergency Supply Donor Group.
The organization said it is also planning to donate additional supplies, including medical-grade masks, goggles, gowns and other gear, to County-USC and other hospitals.
The group also announced the launch of the Greater Los Angeles Hospital Registry — a free tool for every hospital in Los Angeles County to share their needs in real time and be connected to vendors and donors who can help them meet their goals.
“We cannot address this problem gift by gift, hospital by hospital — the work is too great,” said Emily Kane Miller, Emergency Supply Donor Group’s co-founder and Ethos Giving CEO.
Lisa Greer, the registry’s co-founder and head of Philanthropy 451, said the registry will “harness the power of our community to equitably get much-needed supplies to our heroic frontline healthcare workers.”
“They need our support more than ever, and we hope that the registry will help equip them with the tools they need to be successful and stay safe in keeping this virus at bay,” Greer said.