OAKLAND, Calif., April 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In response
to a nationwide shortage of personal protective equipment, or PPE,
for medical staff on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19,
a coalition of private and nonprofit organizations have banded
together to launch Protecting People Everywhere, an initiative
powered by the HealthEquip™ app through which PPE donors and their
donations can be matched with potential recipients. The app ensures
the equitable distribution of critical PPE and other medical
supplies to the places they are needed most. The coalition includes
the American Hospital Association, Kaiser Permanente, Kearney,
Merit Solutions, Microsoft, and UPS. From technology and shipping
to hospital advocacy and health care expertise, coalition members
have worked together to solve an issue that is key to virus
containment.
![](https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1154902/Protecting_People_Everywhere_Logo.jpg)
Protecting People Everywhere features the HealthEquip™ app to
connect donors of PPE to hospitals and communities in need. Through
the app, developed by Merit Solutions, anyone can donate PPE,
medical-grade preferred, which is then added to a central database.
Hospitals that sign up on the app can request the PPE and an
algorithm will match resources to critical need based on the amount
of staff, the number of COVID-19 patients, and other factors that
ensure an unbiased distribution of PPE. Once matched, PPE will be
ready for shipment via UPS. Consulting firm Kearney designed the
physical supply chain, ensuring medical-grade equipment donations
reach workers on the front lines.
Protecting People Everywhere builds on the 100 Million Mask
Challenge, an AHA-led effort to leverage private sector
partnerships to secure millions of masks for the physicians,
nurses, and front-line workers who are serving coronavirus patients
and at greater risk due to a nationwide shortage of PPE. In 2
weeks, the initiative has generated widespread public support from
hundreds of manufacturers and individuals at
100millionmasks.org.
Since the pandemic began, organizations including AHA and Kaiser
Permanente have pushed to secure needed PPE for the health care
workforce. The Protecting People Everywhere initiative will help
hospitals of all sizes and from every corner of the country fill
immediate gaps while continuing to work with government and private
sector partners.
"The HealthEquip app will help us continue to turn the inspiring
response to the 100 Million Mask Challenge into action," said
Michelle Hood, executive vice
president and COO of the AHA. "Through this partnership, we will
help to secure needed protection for the people on the front
lines."
"Health care workers everywhere are working tirelessly to help
protect our communities from COVID-19, and we are committed to
providing them with the highest level of protection possible," said
Bechara Choucair, MD, senior vice
president and chief health officer for Kaiser Foundation Health
Plan, Inc. and Hospitals. "We're proud to be part of this coalition
that is working to find solutions to closing the critical PPE gap
for hospitals across the country."
The goal of the initiative is to provide the logistical support
needed on both the donor and recipient sides. This will make it
easy for donations to make it to recipients quickly and safely.
"Donating PPE to your local hospital is a good thing. Donating
PPE to a hospital that desperately needs it is even better. The
goal for this program is ultimately to enable allocation of PPE to
those who need it the most, and then to do it at scale," said
David Rhew, MD, vice president and
chief medical officer at Microsoft. "Microsoft is honored to
provide the cloud services and technical expertise to support this
effort and committed to the goal of protecting those on the front
lines in the battle against COVID-19."
"Kearney is committed to helping forge the right connections
during this pandemic and privileged to join this group of prominent
industry leaders to ensure our health care professionals have the
equipment they need," said Alex Liu,
managing partner at Kearney.
For more information on how to donate or request PPE, interested
parties can go to www.health-equip.com or download the app
available in the App Store or Google Play.
About the American Hospital Association
The American
Hospital Association (AHA) is a not-for-profit association of
health care provider organizations and individuals that are
committed to the health improvement of their communities. The AHA
advocates on behalf of our nearly 5,000 member hospitals, health
systems and other health care organizations, our clinician partners
– including more than 270,000 affiliated physicians, 2 million
nurses and other caregivers – and the 43,000 health care leaders
who belong to our professional membership groups. Founded in 1898,
the AHA provides insight and education for health care leaders and
is a source of information on health care issues and trends. For
more information, visit the AHA website at www.aha.org.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed
to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as
one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit
health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to
provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to
improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We
currently serve 12.2 million members in eight states and the
District of Columbia. Care for
members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by
their personal Permanente Medical Group physicians, specialists and
team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are
empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and
tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art
care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser
Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research,
health education and the support of community health.
About Kearney
As a global consulting partnership in
more than 40 countries, our people make us who we are. We're
individuals who take as much joy from those we work with as the
work itself. Driven to be the difference between a big idea and
making it happen, we help our clients break through. For more
information, visit www.kearney.com.
About Merit Solutions Inc
Merit Solutions empowers
Life Sciences Manufacturers and Healthcare organizations to become
more efficient, manage growth and maintain compliance. An award
winning, Microsoft Gold Partner, Merit specializes in the delivery
of industry specific managed services including Merit for Life
Sciences™ built with Microsoft Dynamic D365, as well as application
development and cloud services. For more information
www.meritsolutions.com.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft)
enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud
and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and
every organization on the planet to achieve more.
About UPS
UPS (NYSE: UPS) is a global leader in
logistics, offering a broad range of solutions including
transporting packages and freight; facilitating international
trade, and deploying advanced technology to more efficiently manage
the world of business. UPS is committed to operating more
sustainably – for customers, the environment and the communities we
serve around the world. Headquartered in Atlanta, UPS serves more than 220 countries
and territories worldwide. UPS was awarded America's Best Customer
Service company for Shipping and Delivery services by Newsweek
magazine; Fortune magazine's Most Valuable Brand in Transportation;
and top rankings on the JUST 100 list for social responsibility,
the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, and the Harris Poll
Reputation Quotient, among other prestigious rankings and awards.
The company can be found on the web at ups.com or pressroom.ups.com
and its corporate blog can be found at ups.com/longitudes. The
company's sustainability eNewsletter, UPS Horizons, can be found at
ups.com/sustainabilitynewsletter. Learn more about our
sustainability efforts at ups.com/sustainability. To get UPS news
direct, follow @UPS_News on Twitter. To ship with UPS, visit
ups.com/ship.
Media contacts:
Marc
Brown
Kaiser Permanente
marc.t.brown@kp.org
510-271-6328
Hilary Costa
Kaiser Permanente
hilary.c.costa@kp.org
510-406-6654
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SOURCE Kaiser Permanente