“We want to do whatever we can to support those medical professionals on the front lines battling this pandemic as New Orleans has been one of the most affected communities in the country,” said Justin Hartenstein, Oracle Lighting director of development. “Oracle Lighting works with several companies outside of the United States and these partners have more available PPE sources than we have here in the U.S. Some of them heard about the struggles that we were having across our country and, specifically, in the New Orleans area with the shortage of masks and other PPE.”
Hartenstein explained that many of these suppliers are now helping out by including procured PPE in Oracle Lighting’s inbound shipments so that Hartenstein and his staff can donate to places in need.
“We are now asking all of our suppliers do the same and we have more supplies on the way,” he added. “This is just the first donation that we plan to make. We will continue to import PPE from other countries with available supplies and donate to medical personnel that are struggling to help people with this virus and need adequate PPE made available to them as soon as possible.”
Hartenstein said that after procuring the PPE supplies, Oracle was able to donate the masks to Tulane Medical Center through Supplies for Saints, a group that is managing the collection of PPE for local hospitals.
“Co-founding Supplies for Saints was such a crucial endeavor for us because we realized how important it was to keep our frontlines healthy so they could continue to care and heal those stricken with COVID-19,” said Kelly Becnel Rovetto, co-founder of Supplies for Saints. “These men and women deserve to feel safe that they are not bringing home this virus to their families or contracting it themselves. PPE donations like this make a big difference in the lives of these men and women.”
Hartenstein asked that other companies importing products consider procuring available PPE from their suppliers and donate to those who are in desperate need for adequate protective equipment.
