Dear Friends,
GLI’s COVID-19 Renewal Task Force convened for the first time today and I am excited to announce that Kerry Stemler of K.M. Stemler Co., Inc. has agreed to chair the initiative. I’ve been asked a few times why this initiative is called the “Renewal” Task Force. The term “renewal” means “to make new, fresh, or strong again,” and that is exactly the reason for its name. We will emerge from this stronger and more united than before. We will be renewed. The meeting today focused on short-term relief efforts such as testing capacity, PPE acquisition, and financial relief. The group will provide guidance on business response efforts to COVID-19 and I will continue to keep you updated on its progress through these emails.
Some of our speakers today included leaders who facilitated a groundbreaking initiative with the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Kentucky, in collaboration with the University of Louisville Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute and the Louisville Healthcare CEO Council has developed a partnership with three large hospital systems – Baptist Health, Norton Healthcare and University of Louisville Health – that will help healthcare workers understand whether they were unknowingly exposed to COVID-19, determine how much immunity was generated by such exposure, and identify those with the best immune responses as donors of high quality plasma for rescue treatment of patients with advanced COVID-19. In addition, data collected will be informative as scientists worldwide work to determine whether quantitative antibody measurements that can be used to predict immunity in the overall workforce.
Because we know that testing is a critical need right now, UPS and Gravity Diagnostics have also joined the Commonwealth of Kentucky and Kroger to provide drive-thru testing with a 48-hour turnaround test time. This partnership is a key step in the state’s effort to flatten the curve and reduce the overall spread of COVID-19 |