Since the start of our planning to respond to the coronavirus outbreak our Buy-to-Pay team has undertaken a gigantic task of sourcing very scare materials to meet the demands of a totally unheard-of disease that we have no immunity against. In addition to our normal supply chain sources, they have undertaken steps to find and establish new relationships with clinically-approved new sources of supplies; and chartered aircraft to go to Europe and Asia to restock our materials. We also have engaged in some ingenious tactics to PPE supplies from unconventional sources. This includes donations from various private sources, and even P-card shopping at hardware stores to find goggles and face masks. We were very pleased to learn that Southern California Region will receive 770 new ventilators within the next few weeks as part of a massive enterprise-wide purchase of this equipment.
Recently, UHW donated 700 masks to KP and we know our SEIU UHW partner is actively working with other businesses they are part of to encourage and help them immediately switch from whatever they normally manufacture to producing the critical PPE we all need. We applaud and are so grateful for what this means for our nation and health care teams on the frontlines here at KP and across the nation.