A sister-city relationship formed a decade ago between the City of Valparaiso, Valparaiso University and the Nanhu District of China has resulted in a donation of 10,000 PPE masks and other medical supplies to Porter Regional Hospital. “The hospital and entire community is grateful for these much-needed supplies as we face the COVID-19 pandemic together. We appreciate this timely support,” said Mayor Matt Murphy who was a part of the Valparaiso delegation to visit Nanhu District back in 2010 when he served as Valparaiso’s Economic Development Director. “We truly value the ongoing friendships we created years ago,” he said.
The gift of supplies from China follows a similar gift of masks that Valparaiso University collected for Nanhu District early in February as China was fighting the peak of their coronavirus cases. This collection was assembled by Richard AmRhein, VU’s Vice President for Community and Government Relations, with support from the City of Valparaiso. The supplies from China arrived in Porter County just as the Northwest Indiana region was beginning to see cases of COVID-19 in local hospitals. “These supplies will be put to great use. PPE is huge for us right now,” said Sean Dardeau, Chief Executive Officer for Porter Health Care System.
For more information about local efforts to fight COVID-19, including how to reduce your risk and what to do it you have symptoms, visit porterco.org.
