FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 21, 2020
Chamber of Commerce Thanks the Kentucky Chinese American Association, LBX and Aetna Better Health of Kentucky for Efforts to Provide Needed PPE
Frankfort, Ky.—The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce has been coordinating efforts to support Kentucky’s medical professionals by collecting critical personal protective equipment. Today, they announced that their members, including the Kentucky Chinese American Association (KYCAA), LBX Company LLC and Aetna Better Health of Kentucky have collectively raised more than $20,000 to supply medical equipment for Kentucky-based healthcare providers.
These PPE products include 3,000 of much needed N95 masks, surgical masks, gloves, face shields and protective gowns. The products will be distributed to the Kentucky Department of Public Health, Frankfort, Kentucky, Baptist Healthcare, Lexington Clinic, Modern Dentistry and the Red Cross in Lexington, Kentucky.
“Many members of the Chinese American community have relatives and friends who went through the pandemic in China not long ago,” commented Dr. Changzheng Wang, Kentucky Chinese American Association, “They are quite aware of the seriousness of the pandemic and appreciate deeply the importance of PPEs for doctors and nurses. The Chinese American families and businesses donated over $12,000 to the ‘Masks for Doctors and Nurses Fund’ Set up by KYCAA. We donated about $9,000 worth of masks to UKHealthcare already.”
“LBX is working with international organizations to acquire personal protective equipment for our local medical professionals,” said Eric Sauvage, President & CEO, LBX Company LLC. “We authorized a $5,000 contribution yesterday for N95 masks. In addition to that, we contacted our parent, Sumitomo Construction Machinery and asked if they could assist with the needs here in Kentucky. They generously responded with an additional 5,000 surgical masks for us.”
Aetna Better Health of Kentucky, whose CEO, Jonathan Copley, is a member of the Chamber’s Board of Directors, provides medical benefits to over 200,000 Kentuckians across the Commonwealth. Thanks to their contribution, 2,000 N95 Honeywell masks were distributed to healthcare workers in the state.
This partnership between KYCAA and leading businesses combines their resources and skills to provide PPEs our doctors and nurses urgently need. The group will continue fundraising and procurement activities and plan to donate any new PPEs purchased to support the COVID-19 response in Lexington and statewide. Interested companies are urged to join this effort by contacting Changzheng Wang, KYCAA, [email protected] or Rob Orlowski, LBX Company, [email protected].
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