St. Joe’s accepts delivery of PPE from research partners in China
Published April 17, 2020 at 3:59 pm
Earlier this week, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton received a shipment of much-coveted N95 masks from China.
Earlier this week, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton received a shipment of much-coveted N95 masks from China.
In a press release, The Research Institute of St. Joe’s Hamilton said a delivery of nine boxes of N95 respirators and another nine boxes of masks, face shields, and gloves arrived on Tuesday (April 14) from the Guangzhou Institute for Respiratory Health (GIRH) in Guangzhou, China.
“The shipment from Guangzhou was arranged by Dr. Martin Kolb (above), a staff respirologist and research director of the Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health at St. Joe’s, who reached out to colleagues in China,” the release says.
“There, Dr. Nanshan Zhong and Dr. Jianxing He and their team happily agreed to send their latest shipment of PPE to Canada.”
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Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is in great demand among front-line workers across the globe who are battling COVID-19 head-on.
This shipment from China comes at a crucial time in Hamilton’s fight against the virus that has already killed 11 people in the city and sickened hundreds more.
The release says that Hamilton hospitals are expecting the number of cases “to rise dramatically over the next two weeks.”
As of Thursday (April 16), there are seven people being treated in St.Joe’s hospitals and another 12 at Hamilton Health Sciences’ hospitals.
“This wonderful gesture of sending PPE at a time of great need really says more than words,” said Dr. Kolb in the release.
The Guangzhou research team posed for a group photo with one researcher holding a box of PPE emblazoned with a message of unity in the fight against COVID-19.
St. Joe’s Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health established a formal research partnership with Guangzhou in 2012, the release says.
“In times of great need, having research partners can also have a direct clinical benefit, as we have seen here,” said Dr. Jack Gauldie, Vice President, Research at St. Joe’s.
“With limited supplies of N95 masks and other PPE, we are incredibly grateful to our friends in Guangzhou for having shared their stock with our Hospital.”
St. Joe’s is still in need of PPE, including N95 surgical, medical, and procedural masks, face shields, and impervious gowns. If you are interested in donating any of these items, please send an email to [email protected].
The City of Hamilton is also accepting donations of PPE. For more information, visit their website.
Photos courtesy The Research Institute of St. Joe’s Hamilton
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