April : COVID-19 PPE Shortage
Don’t forget to check in on your loved ones
April marked the spike of COVID-19 in the United States and since then, social distancing, face masks, and the Center for Disease Control have been the main topics of conversation. While the pandemic is still charging on and positive coronavirus tests continue to roll in, society has continued to move forward and the best in humanity has been brought out in many ways. Navigating through life during COVID-19 has made us all step back and appreciate our amazing doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers. Frontline workers show up around the clock to protect the health and safety of all. They are true warriors and we, as a brand, wanted to do whatever we could to help our brave healthcare heroes.
In April, our CEO, Stephane Colleu connected with our long-time partners at the University of Miami Health System to see how we could support frontline workers. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) was in short supply and the hospital, like many others around the world, were low on N95 masks, gloves, face shields, surgical masks, gowns, and more due to the high numbers of potentially infectious patients being admitted and cared for. PPE protects not only those admitted to the hospital, but more importantly the essential workers who are exposed to the disease everyday. The protective equipment helps prevent the spread of the virus and acts as a barrier to block transmission of contaminants from blood, body fluids, or respiratory secretions.
Bigger than skincare
In response to the shortage of such a vital commodity, we created a campaign to raise funds for U of M that would be used to purchase PPE. The social media campaign allowed people the option to donate, purchase, or share to help raise awareness. For every purchase of our #SayILoveYou Age-Defying Microdermabrasion Exfoliator, $1 was given back to the fund. For every share on social media, $1 was donated by Dr. BRANDT skincare to further support the fund. After a month of promotion, we raised over $21,000 that was used by the University of Miami to purchase these much needed PPE items to help keep their team safe during the peak of the pandemic. The purchase of over 2,500 masks, 700 face shields and more was successfully provided to their doctors, nurses, and staff to ensure safety.
While this month catapulted the hysteria around the pandemic, it also changed the course of our lives and showed everyone how strong our frontline workers are and how communities stood together to help one another during a daunting time. As a brand, we are proud to say we were able to help during this time and will continue to do so in whatever ways we can. Although the pandemic is still here, we’ve truly seen the best of humanity during COVID-19 and it’s inspired all of us to want to pay it forward in any way that we can. We hope 2021 will continue to show us innovation, support for the medical community, and continued hope.
For more information you can visit Center for Disease Control (CDC.gov) and World Health Organization (WHO.gov)
