This story has been updated.
SAN JOSE — One afternoon last week, San Jose Police Department property supervisor Anna Hawkes was awash in news of widespread shortages of masks and other supplies at area hospitals straining to keep up with the spiking number of people needing hospital care for COVID-19.
It prompted her to remember that there might be a stashed-away cache of hospital-grade masks somewhere in one of the department’s warehouses, a stockpile inspired by the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic. So she and other staff began hunting for the pallet.
Tuesday, they found their treasure, in the form of a plastic-wrapped pallet of scores of boxes labeled 3M. They re-discovered 50,000 masks, and because the department had already loaded up on personal protective equipment in anticipation of the current pandemic, they were all technically surplus.
Hawkes’ discovery was in a sense like finding gold, given the widespread of shortages of masks and other medical supplies at area hospitals straining to keep up with the number of infected people who need intensive care. So she approached police commanders and suggested they could go to better use. Police contacted the CDC to ensure they were still viable, and got the go-ahead to give them away.
From there, it was a “no-brainer” on where the masks needed to go, police said. Five large hospitals in San Jose: Valley Medical Center, O’Connor and Good Samaritan Hospitals, Kaiser San Jose and Regional Medical Center.
“Credit needs to go to Anna Hawkes,” police Chief Eddie Garcia said. “It amazes me how, as were going through this crisis, people are mindful of the little things, that have enormous impact.”
The donated masks were graciously received at the hospitals. At Good Sam, Chief Nursing Officer Mark Brown said upon the Wednesday afternoon delivery that medical workers go through up to 400 masks each day.
It was also part of broader efforts in the South Bay to collect medical supplies like masks, face shields, and other personal protective equipment. As of this past weekend, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group’s donation drive gathered $531,000 from local companies, $51,000 from individuals, and equipment: 1,200 respirators and 1,300 surgical masks from Limileds, 2,000 hazmat suits from KLA, 15,000 surgical masks from IBM and more than 140,000 surgical masks from Western Digital.
The Valley Medical Center Foundation, which is steering the allocation of those funds and equipment, has in its own right collected more than $250,000 in materials and $3.5 million in cash donations. Michael Elliott, the foundation’s chief operating officer, said people who want to help should not feel pressure to locate equipment and that monetary donations ensure that hospitals are obtaining exactly what they need.
He said the foundation was grateful for the police donation, both materially and for the gesture it represented.
“What stands out is I think these officers understand what it means to put your life at risk, to serve and take care of others. That’s what our care providers are doing right now, with everything they’ve got, in the coming days, weeks and months,” Elliott said.
Elliott pointed out that in 10 days, the foundation has collected 175,000 masks, 50,000 pairs of gloves, and a large assortment of disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizer and goggles. He said there’s a team of people handy with 3D printers who are making face shields.
“It sends a needed message right now for the healthcare work force,” he said, “that we see them, understand the risk they’re taking, and will do everything we can to make sure they’re taken care of.”
Update: March 26, 2020 This story has been updated to clarify that the purchase of the masks was influenced by the 2009 pandemic, but not purchased at that time, and to reflect that police said they consulted with the CDC to ensure the masks were still viable for hospital use.
