Help from Abroad: China-based Donors and International Partners Help U.S. Hospitals Fight COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused myriad changes, but one of special significance has been the little-publicized flow of aid to the United States from China-based Americans, Chinese organizations and citizens, and even the Chinese government itself. This has taken the form of donations of personal protective equipment (PPE), cash and valuable services. Diverse organizations such as MedShare International, Flexport.org and the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai have entered into agreements and partnerships to benefit U.S.-based hospitals, such as San Francisco’s own Chinese Hospital.

Join us for a discussion with representatives of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai (AmCham Shanghai), Chinese Hospital, Flexport.org, MedShare International and San Francisco State University; the program will be moderated by KPIX's Betty Yu.

Meet the Speakers

David Basmajian is senior advisor for public affairs at Takeda Pharmaceuticals and served as a member of the Board of Governors at the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. David was instrumental in bringing overseas support from China to many nonprofit organizations in the United States, including Chinese Hospital. 

Jason Chernock serves as director of programs and partnerships for MedShare. He focuses on building partnerships with the health-care industry to advance MedShare’s mission and oversees the organization’s national gift-in-kind strategy. Jason joined MedShare in 2014. 

Dave Hartman is an operations manager at Flexport.org, which expedites free shipping of health-care and disaster relief supplies for nonprofit organizations engaged in humanitarian response work. He previously worked on a disaster response team with Save the Children, deploying to emergencies in Iraq, Liberia, Nepal and Jordan.

Eric Talbert teaches at San Francisco State University in the Nonprofit Management Program. He also has more than 15 years of nonprofit leadership experience with a focus on advancing human rights locally and globally. In his former role at MedShare, Eric drew together nonprofit health-care organizations with much-needed PPE, free shipping via Flexport, as well as import assistance.

Dr. Jian Zhang has been CEO of Chinese Hospital since 2017. Her service throughout the Chinese Hospital system began in 1996. Among numerous awards and certifications, Dr. Zhang is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. In 2021 she was named a Distinguished Woman of the Year for the State of California by Assemblymember David Chiu.

Betty Yu joined KPIX 5 in November 2013 as a general assignment reporter. A Bay Area native, Betty graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with degrees in political science and rhetoric. She also has a Master of Science degree in journalism from Columbia University.

MLF ORGANIZER

Ian McCuaig and Lillian Nakagawa

NOTES

MLF: Asia-Pacific Affairs