Several weeks after Bartholomew County assisted a province of China get through the worst of their COVID-19 crisis, the favor is being returned.
In an effort largely coordinated by the Chinese Association in Columbus (CCA), up to 8,000 masks, respirator masks and other protective gear have already arrived in Bartholomew County, mostly from China, to help our community fight back against the virus.
Shipments began arriving on Tuesday, according to association member and community activist Susan Zhuang. On Wednesday, the group sent 2,195 respirator masks, as well as 1,100 regular surgical masks, to Columbus Regional Hospital, she said.
This example of different sides of the planet reaching out to one another to save lives began back in January.
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That was when Columbus Regional Health officials began coordinating with the CCA, as well as Cummins East Asian Employee Resource Group, to transport medical supplies to China. The hospital donated 10,000 masks, 2,800 sterile gloves and 22 sterile gowns.
In February, the association and resource group had raised around $24,000 in donations to order protective goggles and other supplies for the Wuhan area.
At the time, commercial flights from the U.S. to China were in the process of being banned, and medical supplies from Columbus had to be tucked away in luggage aboard a commercial flight to Beijing, China. From there, they were transported to Wuhan, as well as neighboring Chinese cities like Xiangyang, to help prevent the spread of the virus.
Several weeks later, Columbus residents including Zhuang and Shen Macheel learned the COVID-19 virus had reached Indiana, as well as caused a significant outbreak in New York City.
A number of association members immediately realized protective masks were needed in Bartholomew County as quickly as possible, Zhuang said.
Since much of China appeared to be emerging from its health crisis, some of their companies had ample supplies of effective medical protective gear lacking in the U.S., she said.
Efforts to obtain respirator masks, face shields and surgical masks quickly gained more and more support until the effort had recruited more than 20 people, Zhuang said.
“Several who are in the local Chinese community began asking their relatives and friends, as well as others they know in China, for masks,” Zhuang said. “We have also been raising money, so we can place orders.”
Valuable contacts were also established in Indianapolis that were helpful in obtaining masks and protective gear from several different areas, Columbus City Councilwoman Elaine Hilber said.
Financial documents show the CCA had budgeted $30,000 in donations to purchase masks and respirators. As of Thursday, the organization has already spent $24,248, but needed fundraisers to come up with more than $20,000 to pay off the bill.
Nearly every person within the 20-member group has asked a relative, friend or acquaintance with a source to acquire respirator and surgical masks to either ship the supplies directly to Columbus, or provide contacts to companies that had the gear in stock.
“Every morning, I would open the door of my house, and I would find some masks there,” Zhuang said. “Sometimes, I didn’t know who donated them.”
Those small donations allowed the CCA to send 295 masks to the police and fire departments in Columbus last week, Zhuang said. In addition, Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop also received protective gear that he can provide to where he thinks it’s needed, she said.
After the first large shipment from China arrived in Columbus on Tuesday, the association sent 2,195 respirator masks, as well as 1,100 regular surgical masks, to Columbus Regional Hospital on Wednesday, she said.
By early next week, the organization is supposed to receive another 3,095 respirator masks, as well as another 2,000 regular surgical masks from China, Zhuang said.
Most respirator masks, which have numbers such as N95 or N96, are capable of filtering out 94 to 95% of small particles, including viruses, according to the Healthline website.
The N95 masks are the ones most needed by medical professionals at Columbus Regional Hospital, Hilber said.
While surgical masks are not considered as effective, they still protect the wearer from sprays, splashes, and large-particle droplets, as well as prevent the spread of secretions from the wearer to others, the website stated.
Of all the corporate contributors, it was Cummins, Inc. that provided the most supplies, including 50,000 respirators masks, according to financial records.
While Cummins’ worldwide headquarters is based in Columbus, the corporation has 10 facilities in the Hubei Province: including in its capital of Wuhan.
Another large contributor is YinChang Inc., which operates a 65,000 square foot warehouse facility in the Woodside Business Center. Financial records indicate the Chinese-based firm, which has been in Columbus since 2007, has contributed $3,050 for protective gear.
At this time, it appears that health care professional in Bartholomew County will have a supplier to provide masks in the future, Hilber said. One supplier in China who is selling quality protective gear to local health care professionals is Dasheg Health Providers in Shanghai.
“It’s just a matter of finding the funds,” she said.
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The Chinese Association in Columbus is trying to raise several thousand dollars to pay for protective medical gear already obtained to help treat the COVID-19 virus.
If you can contribute, checks can be mailed to the Chinese Association in Columbus at 4265 Sharp Lane, Columbus, IN 47201.
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