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Seven Massachusetts Department of Mental Health hospitals have been equipped with personal protective equipment for staff, thanks to a decade-long partnership between UMass Medical School and West China Hospital. The hospital is affiliated with Sichuan University Medical School, in Chengdu, China.

The donation fills a gap, at least for the short term, in protecting DMH hospital staff after normal state purchasing outlets were closed.

West China Hospital sent eight boxes, containing 1,600 disposable surgical masks, 805 NIOSH-certified N95 masks and 40 isolation gowns, said Sheldon Benjamin, MD, interim chair and professor of psychiatry.

Dr. Benjamin received the shipment on April 13 and brought the PPE to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency warehouse at Worcester Recovery Center and Hospital, for distribution by DMH to state hospitals. The donation from China adds to supplies collected by UMass Medical student volunteers, he said.

“Our department provides a wide variety of clinical services, each with its own needs related to COVID-19,” Benjamin said. “The medical school’s response to our public sector patients’ needs is particularly heartwarming.”

UMass Medical School’s psychiatry department runs clinical programs in four of DMH’s seven hospitals: Worcester Recovery Center and Hospital, Cape Cod and Islands Mental Health Center in Pocasset, Taunton State Hospital, and Corrigan Mental Health Center in Fall River. The school also provides clinical staff at the Brockton Multi-Service Center’s outpatient mental health center.

The donated supplies, combined with several thousand pieces of PPE collected by student volunteers, are being provided to all the DMH hospitals.

Benjamin explained that when the COVID-19 pandemic began to escalate, people entering DMH buildings weren’t yet required to wear masks, unlike in most hospitals. Unfortunately, the DMH hospitals were undersupplied with PPE.

“Most hospitals quickly figured out different pipelines to get either donations or to purchase PPE. State hospitals, accustomed to ordering supplies through state vendors, have somewhat more limited options,” he said.

Benjamin learned of the PPE shortage in a meeting with DMH officials and mentioned it during a department chairs’ meeting two weeks ago with Chancellor Michael F. Collins and Terence R. Flotte, MD, the Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor of Medical Education, executive deputy chancellor, provost and dean of the School of Medicine.

A few hours later, supplies collected by students started arriving at the medical school.

That evening, Guangping Gao, PhD, the Penelope Booth Rockwell Professor in Biomedical ��������, professor of microbiology & physiological systems, director of the Horae Gene Therapy Center and co-director of the Li Weibo Institute for Rare Diseases ��������, emailed Benjamin that West China Hospital was interested in donating PPE to hospitals in need.

Benjamin sent a letter asking for donations to provide PPE for one month—some 50,000 surgical masks—while other supply sources could be located. West China Hospital officials wrote back that they would try.

Federal restrictions meant that the supply couldn’t go through as one large shipment. So they sent a smaller amount of donated equipment divided up into smaller boxes and shipped independently.

“It was just a very warm gesture from them,” said Benjamin.

The donated supplies should cover staff needs for a week or two, he said, providing a critical bridge as the state’s supply lines gradually reopen.

“The �������� Medical School is one of the most important international partners of our school and hospital,” wrote Ling Zou, MD, in a letter to Benjamin. Dr. Zou is director of the International Office and associate professor of radiology at West China Hospital/West China School of Medicine.

Zou said, “When we communicated with experts from Spain and Italy a few days ago, we were very impressed by what they said: We only have one enemy, that is COVID-19. Our hospital and our colleagues are willing to fight side by side with you in this battle against the virus, and we also believe that we will and must win this battle eventually.”