SHELTON, WA – The Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA) is distributing simple procedural masks, known in the healthcare sector as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), to hospitals across Washington state, and Mason Health received a shipment of 24,000 masks on Monday, April 27. This marks the first time the association has taken the unprecedented step of importing and distributing medical supplies to ensure hospitals have the required equipment to keep staff and patients safe. Some of WSHA’s masks have already been distributed to local long-term care facilities and organizations serving individuals experiencing homelessness.

WSHA purchased 300,000 disposable surgical masks from Dingyi North America and is selling the masks to facilities at-cost. Other health care systems to receive masks include Columbia Basin Hospital, East Adams Hospital, Grays Harbor Community Hospital, Klickitat Valley Healthcare, Ocean Beach Hospital, Samaritan Healthcare, Skyline Hospital and Willapa Harbor Hospital. The masks arrived from China last week and have been stored at Kaiser Permanente’s Renton, Wash., warehouse while the deliveries were coordinated.

“WSHA has never imported or distributed supplies to its members or other organizations, and we had no idea how to do it, but we made it happen nonetheless,” WSHA President & CEO Cassie Sauer said. “This is just the first round of deliveries, and we plan to distribute the next round to more facilities as soon as possible. Our hospitals and other care providers are desperate for supplies to keep staff and patients safe – our actions were fueled by this desperation.”

Access to personal protective equipment (PPE) has been one of the most challenging issues for the health care community nationwide, and keeping health care teams safe is WSHA’s top priority. The association ordered hundreds of thousands of additional masks from Dingyi North America and Bartell Drugs. WSHA will sell and deliver these as well to facilities across the state.

“I am very grateful for and supportive of WSHA’s efforts to provide critical and life-saving personal protective equipment for all of our staff who are caring for our patients and community members during this challenging time in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mason Health CEO, Eric Moll added. “We are all in this together, and WSHA actions are in alignment with our Mission of United Community, Empowered People, Exceptional Health.”

Mason Health, Public Hospital District No. 1 of Mason County, is certified by Det Norske Veritas (DNV) and is a licensed and accredited acute care hospital with a level four emergency trauma designation. There are more than 100 physicians on staff in 19 specialties. Mason Health now offers 3D Mammography Services. For more information on 3D mammograms or to find a health care provider, visit www.MasonGeneral.com.