A group of private and nonprofit organizations including Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente, Microsoft and the American Hospital Association are launching an app called Protecting People Everywhere that will provide personal protective equipment to hospitals in need.
The app allows anyone to donate the equipment, which is then added to a central database. Hospitals that sign up can request the gear it needs, and an algorithm matches the resources to hospitals based on staff size, number of COVID-19 patients and other factors, prioritizing hospitals with the most need.
The PPE is shipped through UPS. The supply chain was designed by Kearney, a Chicago-based consulting firm. The app was developed by Merit Solutions.
The app builds on the 100 million mask challenge, an effort led by the AHA to secure masks for physicians, nurses and other front-line workers serving COVID-19 patients.
Read the full news release here.