Sentara donates nearly $3.5 million in medical supplies to charities addressing war and natural disasters in Ukraine, Poland, Haiti and the Philippines

Norfolk, Va.-based Sentara Healthcare has donated more than 100 pallets of medical supplies over the past two weeks to charities addressing war and natural disasters in Ukraine, Poland, Haiti and the Philippines. The value of the supplies distributed is approximately $3.5M.

On Friday, March 25, 2022, forklifts loaded two large trucks for Operation Blessing at the Sentara warehouse in Chesapeake, Va. Items included gowns, gloves, masks, face shields and goggles, stethoscopes, hand sanitizer and skin cleanser to help the wounded, injured and sick in countries where the medical infrastructure has been disrupted by war, weather and earthquakes.

Sentara has also distributed more than 1,100 single bed sets to local churches and charities, purchased when Sentara was preparing for a possible community-based COVID-19 treatment center at the start of the pandemic. The distributions are being coordinated by the Sentara Health Equity and Community Engagement and Impact teams.

"The Sentara mission is to improve health every day in the communities we serve," says Iris Lundy, senior director of health equity. "In this case, there are so many urgent needs in so many places that our community is the world."

Agencies receiving supplies from Sentara include Operation Blessing, Christian Relief, Feed My Sheep, The Tidewater Ukrainian School, Christians United for Haiti and Somebody Cares America.

Sentara Healthcare is also matching up to $1,500 per employee any personal donation they make to Ukrainian relief efforts. Sentara Healthcare has a total of 29,000 employees in Virginia and North Carolina.