NEWS RELEASE
SWINE FLU PREVENTION AID ASKED FOR SAN DIEGO CLINICS
LOS ANGELES-BASED INTERNATIONAL RELIEF AGENCY
OPERATION USA RESPONDS TO EMERGENCY REQUEST FROM
SAN DIEGO COUNTY-AREA HEALTH CLINICS
(LOS ANGELES, CA, April 27, 2009)—In response to an emergency request from the National Association of Community Health Centers in Washington, D.C. for protective equipment and supplies for San Diego County-area community health centers, Operation USA announced today that it was sending part of its standby disaster response medical supply inventory to San Diego. Pending requests from Texas and other California clinics are also being considered. The group maintains a large storage warehouse in the Port of Los Angeles in Wilmington, CA.
The supplies, including N-95 biohazard masks, latex gloves, and cleaning materials will be distributed among San Diego County's community based clinics for free distribution in the event the Swine Flu outbreak in Mexico and several other places in the USA spreads to the San Diego area.
Preparedness can mitigate the effects of Swine Flu, hence the shipment of masks, soap and other flu prevention paraphernalia.
Operation USA asks its corporate health care donors for additional bulk supplies including anti-viral medications and protective gear. It asks the public for cash contributions to enable it to respond quickly to flu outbreaks wherever they occur.
Operation USA's Port of Los Angeles Warehouse will be available for scheduled media visits; Operation USA expert staff will also be available for interviews.
About Operation USA
Operation USA is an international relief agency that helps communities at home and abroad overcome the effects of disasters, disease and endemic poverty by providing privately-funded relief, reconstruction and development aid. Since 1979, the Los Angeles-based Operation USA has worked in 99 countries, delivering over $300 million for relief and development projects.
A recent grant from The Lincy Foundation supports Operation USA's Regional Preparedness Program (RPP). The RPP, comprising disaster response protocols and emergency supplies, enables Operation USA to provide relief services and emergency clinical supplies to nonprofit community health centers in California and throughout greater Los Angeles following a disaster.
Learn more at www.opusa.org .
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Media Contact:
Alison Deknatel, Director of Communications, Operation USA
310.838.3455 or adeknatel@opusa.org
Richard Walden, President and CEO, Operation USA 310.838.3455 or rwalden@opusa.org
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
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