DETROIT — Nalpac's Steve Craig is featured in a Washington Post article detailing the ongoing efforts to obtain N95 masks for healthcare workers in the state of Michigan.
The article by Greg Jaffe, published on Monday, illuminates the desperate search to secure more personal protective equipment (PPE) as the state gears up for its apex of coronavirus cases. The story details Congressperson Rep. Elissa Slotkin's outreach efforts to anyone who could be in a position to offer assistance, including Craig, who found himself at the center of a race against time to order and import a shipment of N95 masks from China.
When national stockpiles of PPE failed to be distributed to individual states, Slotkin had turned to the Big Three auto manufacturers — General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler — all of whom have close ties to Chinese factories; however, an introduction from a high school friend to Craig presented a new opportunity.
After his child's pediatrician closed its offices following a shortage of PPE, Craig had originally sought to monetize the sale or resale of masks, but quickly shifted to offer a helping hand as the COVID-19 crisis escalated.
Craig called Slotkin late last week to share news from a connection to a factory in Shandong province that produces medical supplies.
“I just got off the phone with my guy in China,” he told her. “He’s literally at the factory and hasn’t left for three days. He’s telling me that there are 110 people in line waiting for their orders. I told him to take pictures because no one is going to believe this.”
As demand for PPE ramped up worldwide, pressure on Chinese factories increased, with mixed messages pouring out.
Meanwhile, in Michigan, the shortage of PPE was becoming increasingly dire day by day as complaints poured into Slotkin's office. One nurse in Flint described using the same mask for an entire shift, along with a one-gown-per-room policy. "Not one gown per RN, one gown per room,” he noted. “So you have multiple people using one (contaminated) gown all night."
Ultimately, it would seem Craig's connection came through, although his order has apparently been delayed by two weeks because of high demand.
Michigan currently has 18,970 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 845 deaths.
Find the Washington Post article here.
