Will protect frontline COVID-19 healthcare workers throughout Silicon Valley. "We're feeling lucky," says Valley Medical Foundation CEO Chris Wilder

SAN JOSE, CA, USA, April 23, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Responding to a national shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers, the Valley Medical Center Foundation announced today a donation of 49,000 face shields designed and assembled by teams at Google. The shields will be deployed at hospitals, clinics, skilled nursing facilities, and other high-risk environments throughout Santa Clara County during the COVID-19 crisis.

“Google is stepping up in our most trying time in Santa Clara County,” said Cindy Chavez, president of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. “Thanks for standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our community.”

Google developed the face shields in consultation with physicians and nurses at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Hospitals & Clinics. The device is made of clear plastic, foam and elastic – materials that are in short supply given the high demand for PPE, and is intended to shield the face from liquid spray and droplets. Google was able to tap its global supply chain and source needed materials, and devoted a team of engineers to design and fabricate locally.

“Bottom-line, these face shields will help save lives,” said Valley Medical Center Foundation CEO Chris Wilder. “We need to keep the people on the frontline of this crisis safe and Google’s donation is helping us do just that.”

The donation caps off a month of remarkable generosity from other Silicon Valley-based companies, small businesses, faith organizations, student groups and community organizations that have donated over 2 million items of PPE to the VMC Foundation. But to Wilder, the Google donation is special.

“They put really talented people on this, worked with our experts and delivered what we needed quickly,” he said.

Face shield distribution will be coordinated by the County of Santa Clara Emergency Operations Center.

The files have been published through GitHub and are available to anyone.

Link to B-Roll: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/nocrukslf9iq1da/AABbtcfHa-o-SgZ4WpCIZcjDa?dl=0
Link to photography: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-O7gLsC8fSnT5N2zQ2Ofj1-H91dUAMxo?usp=sharing

WHEN:
Thursday, April 23, 2020
TIME:
11:00am
WHERE:
2400 Clove Dr.
San Jose, CA 95128

INTERVIEWS:
Valley Medical Center Foundation CEO, Chris Wilder
Valley Medical Center Foundation COO, Michael Elliott
MD Medical Staff President, SCVMC who helped Google design the face shields, Yvonne Karanas

CONTACT:
Chris Wilder, VMCF CEO
(408) 315-9666
Christopher.Wilder@hhs.sccgov.org

Julie Van Vliet | Communications, Google
julievanvliet@google.com

Terry Downing, VP of PRxDigital
(408) 838-0962
terry_downing@prxdigital.com

About the Valley Medical Center Foundation
The Valley Medical Center Foundation is an independent, nonprofit organization founded to support Silicon Valley’s most essential healthcare institution – Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Hospitals & Clinics. In partnership with SCVMC, the VMC Foundation raises philanthropic dollars to improve existing services, pioneer new models of care, and advance the cause of high-quality healthcare for all. It is the only hospital foundation in the United States accredited by the Standards of Excellence Institute for nonprofit ethics. For more information on how to support healthcare workers during the COVID 19 crisis, visit www.vmcfoundation.org/covid19.

Chris Wilder
Santa Clara Valley Medical Foundation
+1 408-315-9666
email us here

Google Face Shield Donations to VMC | NBC Bay Area