Alumni group donates PPE to WVU Medcinie and WVU Cancer Institute

In response to the recent need for PPE for clinical healthcare workers, a local Morgantown Registered Nurse worked with a group of her college friends to raise funds and collect donations to help boost the PPE supplies for WVU Medicine and WVU Cancer Institute Cancer Clinical Trials Research Unit

The equipment was donated on behalf of the alumni association from the Sichuan University in China. While on a call with that group Haixia (Tracy) Yang mentioned that the WVUMedicine system, that both she and her husband Dr.Wanhong Zheng, have worked for since 2005, was in great need of PPEs of all grades.

Tracy is an Interim Lead Clinical Research Specialist currently working in the West Virginia Clinical & Translational Science Institute.

This group of college friends who meet regularly via conference call saw this as a way to help in the fight of COVID-19. Led by Dr. Yuhong Zeng from Boston and Dr. Xiulan Hu in Chicago, the group quickly responded and initiated the alumni donation project named Sichuan University Alumni _WVUMedicine COVID-19 PPEs Donation Project.

By April 5, 2020, about $5,300 was donated by the participating alumni and the team also put in a great effort to ensure PPEs purchases were of high quality with prompt and smooth shipment, which was a great challenge during the pandemic.

This team of 51 college friends (including Tracy and her family) volunteered and all worked together in different ways to raise funds, collect donations of PPE, place the orders, pack, ship, receive, unpack, inventory, allocate, label and eventually were able to drop off a total of 9,000 medical/surgical masks (CE grade) and 250 3M N95 masks (CE grade) for use at WVUMedicine. WVU Cancer Institute Clinical Research Unit was allocated and given 500 medical/surgical masks.

"Although I am the only one in Morgantown who has been involved in this project, I represent the entire Sichuan Alumni team. I am very grateful for all my family’s help, especially my 6-year-old son Luke, who helped with counting, folding boxes, packing, lifting, and sorting, " said Tracy Yang, "I later realized that it is a great love project to get him involved with. He has learned how important compassion and empathy are to others during this pandemic time."

The alumni from Sichuan University want the frontline workers to know that they are appreciated. This is a difficult and challenging time for the entire world. We believe it is a time for people of different backgrounds to be united and help each other. We were glad to see our project - which brought together alumni from several countries Including the United States, Canada, Singapore, Austria, with the majority of the donors from mainland China.

"We want to thank the frontline healthcare workers at WVUMedicine as well as other places for their hard work and sacrifices, " said Dr. Yuhong Zeng, "we hope this donation will be helpful in supporting their work."