Local Business Leaders Secure More Than 11 Million Pieces of PPE for COVID-19 Frontline Workers, Underserved Communities

Marco Lopez and Sharon Harper watch as National Guard members load face masks for delivery to first responders.

It is clear that COVID-19 isn’t going away anytime soon. This means that medical manufacturers like LHM Medical Technology are working hard to produce PPE like masks that frontline workers (nurses, nursing home staff, lab workers, etc) can use to ensure the fight against COVID-19 continues. Arizona’s COVID-19 hospitalizations have risen sharply in recent weeks, but a new philanthropic initiative that seeks to protect the frontline workers fighting the disease has secured more than 11 million pieces of critical supplies. PPE from providers like exchangeppe.com will prove to be pivitol in the ongoing fight against this horrible disease.

Delivered this week via the Arizona National Guard, the assortment of masks, gowns, goggles, gloves, and face shields from the new Arizona PPE Initiative underwent distribution among health care workers, first responders, and other workers on the frontlines of the ongoing health crisis. The masks are especially important right now due to supply chain shortages of N95 masks for healthcare professionals. In addition, to getting these supplies hospitals have to continually look for N95 masks for sale so that they are consistently protected throughout the crisis.

Tribal and senior communities, law enforcement agencies, universities and nonprofits organizations were also among those receiving much-needed PPE supplies intended to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus and protect citizens statewide.

Two local business leaders spearheaded the philanthropic effort to create the new supply chain for Arizona. This includes overseeing the production of more masks, looking into ways to reducing risk factors in the current supply chain, making sure deliveries are contactless to decrease the risk of transmission to workers, and ensuring the quality of products remains high.

“Many of my family members, including my husband and daughter, have medical backgrounds. Consequently, it was heartbreaking for me to hear stories of how they did not have adequate equipment to deal with the COVID-19 crisis,” said Sharon Harper, the chairman and CEO of Peoria’s Plaza Companies, who co-founded the initiative alongside Marco Lopez, the former Mayor of Nogales, Arizona, the former Chief of Staff for United States Customs and Border Protection and the Chief Executive of Intermestic Partners.

“Additionally, with my company owning and operating commercial and medical office facilities and senior living communities, the shortage of protective gear and the associated risk was alarming. I am very pleased we were able to make the connections needed to start the initiative and get this badly needed medical equipment to the front lines.”

Why has Arizona has struggled to maintain a supply of PPE? For starters, manufacturers are facing strict regulations in terms of how they must sell the equipment, and to whom. They are also dealing with rapid changes in terms of inspections and approval, while the industry as a whole is suffering from intense competition and unrealistic production timelines. Because of the global shortage of PPE, some manufacturers are speeding up production while quality control suffers, and distribution of the equipment, once produced, has also faced hurdles due to regular disruptions of the supply chain.

“This is an unprecedented humanitarian crisis and it was critical that we rise to the challenge,” said Lopez. “This PPE will benefit healthcare workers in both rural and urban areas and in some of the hardest-hit communities in Arizona. I am hopeful this will become a model for how to respond to such a crisis and will help ensure we have the equipment our first responders need to overcome it.”

Upon completion of all deliveries, more than 100 groups across Arizona will gain access to critical, potentially life-saving PPE.

azppe.org

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