As people worldwide take precautions during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the swift actions taken by many have provided critical help to those infected with the virus. From healthcare and other essential workers to local law enforcement and service organizations, humanity is uniting globally. The ASEA Advancing Life Foundation made sure to join the fight against the virus by donating funds to high-priority initiatives during the current pandemic.
ASEA Employees Donate to Blood Drive
Even as social distancing was newly announced in Utah, Advancing Life adapted and followed through on plans to host a blood drive through ARUP Laboratories at ASEA headquarters. Most ASEA employees had already moved their workstations to home to prevent the spread of the virus, but many made time to attend the blood drive and help in whatever way they could. More than 20 participants donated 14 units of blood, with each donation providing enough blood to save up to three lives.
Samaritan’s Purse Funds Are Providing Much-Needed Support
The foundation also donated funds to Samaritan’s Purse, an organization specializing in meeting critical needs for victims of conflict, disaster, famine, and epidemics throughout the world, often working through ministry partners on the ground. They provide food, water, shelter, medicine, and other assistance.
Funds donated From Advancing Life have helped a field hospital in Italy, providing 14 tents with 68 beds as well as more than 70 doctors and medical professionals. Those funds have also aided victims in New York City, where a field hospital there offers 14 tents with 68 beds and over 80 doctors and medical professionals to assist the sick.
Funds for Doctors Without Borders Aids Patients Worldwide
Advancing Life also provided funding for Doctors Without Borders, an international humanitarian medical organization known for its projects in conflict zones and in countries affected by endemic diseases. They’ve been using donated funds to aid many countries worldwide during the fight against the virus. Here are a few of the ways those funds are being used to help medical professionals and patients around the world.
In Hong Kong, the organization is providing health education and mental health support for vulnerable groups, including street cleaners, refugees, and asylum seekers, as well as visually impaired people. While, in nearby Malaysia, funds are increasing support to the Ministry of Health and district authorities with contact tracing and testing. They’ve called on the Malaysian government to repeal a directive that public health facilities report “irregular migrants,” including refugees and asylum seekers.
In France, their teams are running medical projects for vulnerable groups, including homeless people and migrants, in Paris and the surrounding areas. Activities include mobile clinics that help screen people for the novel coronavirus. On March 24, over 700 people were evacuated from a hospital camp in Aubervilliers and sent to various emergency shelters in Paris. These teams are deployed in some of these shelters to evaluate citizens’ health and identify those with potential cases of COVID-19. They’re also screening homeless people for COVID-19 and other medical conditions and assessing the situation in referral hospitals in Paris and elsewhere, as well as exploring options for case management support.
In Italy, Doctors Without Borders is supporting three hospitals at the epicenter of the outbreak in Europe, specifically in the Lombardia region in northern Italy, in order to strengthen infection prevention and to control measures and provide additional doctors. Outside the hospitals they are conducting outreach activities to reach vulnerable people, supporting family doctors and health care workers, and assisting people living in home isolation through a telemedicine program. They have also started activities in the Marche region in central Italy, where the number of cases is increasing. They support a network of nursing homes in several cities to prevent cases from spreading in vulnerable facilities, which often have no specialized medical staff to manage the patients. There are about 40 staff involved in the response to coronavirus in Italy.
In the Netherlands, they are offering mental health support, including stress management tools, to psychologists in one hospital, and monitoring the situation for homeless citizens across the region, including asylum seekers. In Norway, the organization is giving strategic advice and IPC support to the hospital hosting up to 12 percent of all patients in the entire country.
And in Spain, the country hit hardest by the pandemic outside of the United States, two temporary health centers with more than 200 combined beds set up in Madrid will be operational this week. Teams are supporting several hospitals in the city with guidance on decongestion. In Barcelona, they participated in the design of external structures and patient circuits of the city’s main hospitals, including Fira de Barcelona. They’re also operating in central Catalonia, tending to the needs of municipal hospitals. In the Basque country, they are supporting homes for the elderly, providing guidance on personal protective equipment for personnel, and more.
Donations to Feeding America Help Those in Need
Back in the United States, hundreds of thousands of families went to their local food banks this past couple of weeks, many for the first time. As food insecurity spreads alongside job loss and economic challenges, the ASEA Advancing Life Foundation has joined with Feeding America to help meet the demand.
Our newest partner Feeding America works closely with more than 200 local food pantries across the U.S. to ensure food is available to those who need it. Advancing Life has committed to donate $10,000 each month during the current crisis. Through the Feeding America network, every $1 provides 11 meals, which equates our contribution to 110,000 meals each month. Monthly donations by ASEA associates and executives, set up through advancinglife.org, makes this possible.
While these efforts are inspiring despite the constant updates and growing numbers, it can be difficult to focus on the good that people are doing and look for the helpers. Let us focus our attention on the brave men and women who are working every day to serve others and keep all of us as safe and as healthy as possible.