In response to an overwhelming surge of COVID-19 cases in India, Prime Healthcare committed to send desperately needed humanitarian aid, medical equipment, and supplies for immediate distribution. Shipments of more than 500 oxygen concentrators and other medical aid will begin arriving this week.
“The current surge in India represents a humanitarian crisis that we must all come together to address. The surge is putting incredible demands on the hospitals and healthcare system and we are sending the most critically needed and life-saving resources such as oxygen concentrators,” said Prem Reddy, MD, chairman, president, and CEO of Prime Healthcare who immigrated to the United States from India in the 1970s. “Many have friends and family who have been impacted in India and our hearts are with them. In the U.S., we have seen the incredible impact of our work in saving and changing lives and we hope our relief efforts will do the same in India.”
India has reported a record number of new cases and fatalities as it faces a devastating second wave of COVID-19 infections. More than 21 million people in India have been infected by the virus and more than 58,000 people have died in the last month with more infectious variants spreading across the country. The resurgence has overwhelmed hospitals, which are struggling with bed shortages and a limited supply of oxygen to treat patients.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has united us as a world and providing relief to India addresses a humanitarian crisis, extends our mission of saving lives beyond our own nation, and aids in the global efforts to bring an end to this pandemic,” said Kavitha Reddy Bhatia, MD, president and chair of Prime Healthcare Foundation. “As a national health system, we have tirelessly battled this pandemic and with so many lessons learned and resources to share, we feel compelled to do all we can to save lives at home and around the world. Prime’s mission of saving hospitals and saving lives does not end at our own borders.”
Prime Healthcare, one of the nation’s largest health systems with 46 hospitals in 14 states, will be sending ventilators, BiPAP machines, oxygen concentrators, associated equipment, and supplies to care for thousands of patients. Oxygen concentrators are portable alternatives to large oxygen cylinders. Because they are portable, oxygen concentrators allow patients who are not as severely ill to continue to receive oxygen at home, away from crowded hospitals. The health system will also be sending COVID-19 testing kits that can be used in the field without instrumentation.
Prime Healthcare is coordinating with US officials, including Congressman Brad Sherman and Congressman Ro Khanna, Chair and Vice-Chair of the Congressional Indian caucus, and the Indian government to ensure the equipment and supplies are distributed to areas of most need.
About Prime Healthcare and Prime Healthcare Foundation: Prime Healthcare is an award-winning health system operating 46 hospitals and more than 300 outpatient locations in 14 states, providing over 2.6 million patient visits annually. It is one of the nation’s leading health systems with nearly 50,000 employees and physicians dedicated to providing the highest quality healthcare. Fifteen of the Prime Healthcare hospitals are members of the Prime Healthcare Foundation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit public charity. Based in Ontario, California, Prime Healthcare is nationally recognized for award-winning quality care and has been named a Top 10 and Top 15 Health System by IBM Watson Health. Its hospitals have been named among the nation’s “100 Top Hospitals” 58 times and have received more Patient Safety Excellence Awards from Healthgrades than any other health system in the past six years. To learn more, please visit www.primehealthcare.com
