WesternU student nurses inspired to help protect health care workers 

Western University of Health Sciences College of Graduate Nursing Master of Nursing-Entry level (MSN-E) students Christina Nguyen and Nancy Tran were on a clinical rotation at Methodist Hospital in Arcadia, California when COVID-19 became a pandemic. They were seeing the expanse of a global shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) for all health care workers, which influenced them to find ways to help them be protected and safe. 

As members of the WesternU National Student Nurses’ Association, the two student nurses formed project #TogetherWeStand, creating a GoFundMe webpage to help make, acquire, and distribute PPE to medical personnel in hospitals and facilities throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties.  

The project raised $5,270, obtained 12,000 gloves, 8,000 surgical masks, and received 205 donated fabric masks. 

“With school transitioning to online education, this project brought the (WesternU) students together, and (MSN-E) Cohort 1 quickly shared this project all over social media,” Nguyen said.

Supplies were donated to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center; Whittier Hospital Medical Center; Methodist Hospital in Arcadia; Greater El Monte Community Hospital; Emanate Health Queen of the Valley Hospital in West Covina; Beverly Community Hospital; Community Hospital of Huntington Park; Emanate Health Foothill Presbyterian Hospital in Glendora; St. Joseph Hospice Health, Covina Rehabilitation Center, and Gladstone Care & Rehabilitation Center.  

“Thank you to our superstar donors and supporters for making this project a reality,” Nguyen and Tran said. “It was such a blessing to see how this brought our friends, family, and community together in helping our frontliners during our time in isolation. Many health care workers broke down in tears due to thinking they were forgotten and were extremely grateful when we dropped off the donations. Biggest thank you to our health care heroes, every day you inspire us as future nurses.”

Several donation recipients thanked the CGN students for their support, including Beverly Foundation VP of Development and Community Relations Les J. Fujimoto, CFRE.

“From all of our team of professionals from our doctors, nurses, support staff, and our administrators, we can’t thank you enough for coming to our aid during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Fujimoto wrote in a letter. “Your support means that we aren’t in this battle alone and we have community heroes like you who have answered the call and have provided real hope in a time of uncertainty and worry.”