(Michelle Boggs, President, Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Foundation; Dr. Chad Perlyn, MD, Pediatric Surgeon, Nicklaus Children’s Hospital)
To help protect medical professionals on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, Speedway—the Ohio-based company and one of the nation’s largest owners and operators of convenience stores—has donated 7,000 N95 masks and 3,000 surgical masks to 11 Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals (CMNH), including Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, in hotspot areas to help provide protection when treating the youngest members of the community.
The masks will be used by Nicklaus Children’s clinical staff as they care for young patients, helping the hospital shore up its supplies in the face of a growing global resource shortage due to COVID-19.
“During these very uncertain times, Jack and I are so grateful to our friends at Speedway for their donation of protective masks for our healthcare providers,” says Barbara Nicklaus, Chair and Co-Founder of the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation, and a member of the CMNH Board. “As hospital supplies continue to be in great demand in our community and communities around the world, these masks will be critical to our hospital by ensuring that our medical professionals on the frontline have the resources they need to keep safe against the COVID-19 virus, while continuing to treat our young patients.”
The other 10 Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals that received the donation, include: Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego, Calif.; Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, Ind.; Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago; Ohio’s Dayton Children's Hospital and Nationwide Children’s Hospital (Columbus); Children's Wisconsin in Milwaukee; Michigan’s Beaumont Children's (Royal Oak) and Helen DeVos Children's Hospital (Grand Rapids), and Monroe Children's Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn.
“On behalf of all the caregivers who work on the frontlines of the 11 member hospitals who received this generous donation, we are grateful for these much-needed masks from Speedway,” said Teri Nestel, interim president and CEO of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. “Speedway’s commitment to the well-being of local medical professionals has never been more needed or more appreciated. It’s comforting to know that these doctors and nurses have the needed resources necessary to care for those who depend on children’s hospitals now and into the future.”
Speedway’s partnership with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals began in 1991 and has since raised more than $121 million for the children’s charity through various fundraising activities. The majority of funds come year-round from customers who contribute via a donation prompt while checking out or in donation canisters at each store.