NRG Energy, Project HOPE collaborate to get protective gear to US health workers

With U.S. cases of COVID-19 nearing 560,000 and healthcare workers still struggling to maintain lines of supply for protective gear, NRG Energy and international healthcare organization Project Hope have teamed up to get that gear into the right hands.

The companies have also partnered with the Business Roundtable and Healthcare Ready, and are mobilizing protective gear and other vital equipment, sourced from manufacturers around the world. They will then allocate them to health facilities, in coordination with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

“America’s health workers need support now more than ever, and with the generous support of NRG, we will be able to deliver the much-needed, lifesaving supplies and equipment to doctors, nurses, and first responders on the frontlines of this outbreak,” Rabih Torbay, Project HOPE President and CEO, said. “Working together with Business Roundtable and Healthcare Ready, we will protect health workers and save countless lives.”

Project HOPE has been working to provide relief amidst the COVID-19 outbreak since its early days last year in Wuhan, China. So far, the organization has delivered nearly 5 million facemasks and other protective gear, along with medical equipment to hospitals in China, with efforts quickly ratcheting up to a global scale. Now, it is being helped by a $100,000 donation from NRG.

“Our strong safety and wellness culture is a longstanding tenet of NRG, and our $100,000 donation to help provide frontline health workers with critical safety resources is an extension of that,” NRG Energy President and CEO Mauricio Gutierrez said. “We appreciate the medical community working tirelessly to combat this pandemic, and we’re glad to support them as they face this profound challenge.”