PPE has been a hard resource to come by for hospitals across the world, yet one Charlotte woman helped bring in tens of thousands of masks to Atrium Health University City.
“All of our health care providers, they are risking their lives to make sure we’re helped and we need to make sure they’re protected,” said Jane Wu, chairwoman of the North America Chinese Chamber of Commerce.
Wu says her efforts to get PPE donated started when the coronavirus began depleting hospital supplies in China.
“Back in January we initiated that to donate PPE to China,” Wu said.
Then, the tables turned.
“Now, the US has the highest confirmed cases in the world so very naturally after that I felt like ok, well we helped China and now we are the ones who need to be helped,” Wu said.
Wu says when she reached out to the same people she helped in Shenzen, China, they were ready to step up.
“Everybody in China they were like, ‘yeah, it’s our turn to return the favor,’” Wu said.
And as a result, Wu was able to donate 40,000 surgical masks, 1,200 N95 masks, 800 disposable masks, and 1,000 goggles to Atrium Health University City.
“I really gained great admiration for Jane and her ability to get things done,” said Bill Leonard, the president of Atrium Health University City.
Leonard decided the hospital would do something nice for Wu.
“When I went to the hospital I was like, oh my gosh,” Wu said.
Dozens of hospital staff lined the street with posters for her to say thank you.
“I really felt thankful you know,” Wu said. “I felt like I should be the one holding the poster. They are the ones that need to be thanked.”
Wu says she felt her role was simply the right thing to do.
“I really feel like this is a humanity thing and everybody’s fighting this, and I feel like we’re all in this together,” Wu said.
The generosity continued on, as Atrium Health decided to share that PPE with the City of Charlotte to help keep others safe too.