Eureka, Ca– A group of nearly 100 local women dedicated to supporting the quality and availability of healthcare for all in Humboldt County, is stepping up to join the fight against COVID-19.
Women for Wellness (W4W) is a philanthropic group promoting education, advocacy, and volunteerism in support of St. Joseph Health-Humboldt. W4W members are collectively donating $105,000 to purchase three ventilators to help boost the local supply for COVID-19 readiness efforts.
“We couldn’t think of a more imperative initiative to fulfill our group’s vision,” said Ginger Weber, W4W Steering Committee Chair. “It is our hope that this investment in the ventilators provides peace of mind for our community and our local healthcare providers. It is also a privilege to do this in honor of the Sisters of Orange, who started our local healthcare system to care for our community 100 years ago, following the 1918 flu epidemic.”
This example of community members coming together to respond in a crisis inspired several additional donors of St. Joseph and Redwood Memorial Hospital Foundations to contribute enough funds that St. Joseph Health-Humboldt was able to order a total of 12 additional ventilators, at a cost of approx. $40,000 each. Humboldt State University officials were so inspired to help, that when requested to fund one ventilator, HSU donated enough to purchase four. In addition, the following supporters made generous contributions: Wayne & Donna Caldwell on behalf of Premier Financial Group
The Schmidbauer Family
Lorin & Irene Flyer
Owsley Electric
The newly purchased ventilators are expected to arrive in the next 4-6 weeks. For the most severely affected COVID-19 patients, these machines are a critical part of the effort to provide lifesaving treatment. Hospital officials want to have an ample supply on hand to be ready for an increase in local cases.
“As the administrator of the only hospital in Humboldt County and surrounding areas with advanced critical care capabilities, including specialists in pulmonary critical care, anesthesia critical care and infectious diseases, we have an obligation to be prepared to care for a surge of patients who develop critical illness due to COVID-19,” said Roberta Luskin-Hawk, M.D., Chief Executive, St. Joseph Health-Humboldt. “While we hope for the best, we are preparing for our hospitals to face unprecedented demand for critical care services.”
