$10M donated to Nevada COVID-19 task force in a week
A task force set up to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic in Nevada has raised more than $10 million in a week.
A news release issued Friday morning said Jim Murren, chair of the Nevada COVID-19 Response, Relief and Recovery Task Force, “announced significant progress in the Task Force’s initial fundraising efforts.”
“To date, the Task Force has raised more than $10 million in financial contributions,” the task force said in the release, also noting the amount does not encompass direct donations of personal protective equipment and supplies like N95 masks, gowns and sanitizer.
Entities contributing to the fundraising effort include Nevada Gold Mines, Elaine P. Wynn & Family Foundation, The Fertitta Family Foundation, Stephen J. Cloobeck, The Murren Family Foundation, The Engelstad Foundation, Bill Foley, owner of the Vegas Golden Knights and The Vegas Golden Knights Foundation, Mark Davis and the Las Vegas Raiders; The Marnell Family Foundation, Phil & Jennifer Satre, the UFC, Monarch Casino, Peppermill Resort, Scott & Mary Alice Nielson, Menzies Family Trust, Binion Family Foundation, and several other individual contributions totaling $235,000 to date.
“The members of the Task Force and I are in awe of the generosity we’ve encountered from so many of our peers, friends and fellow Nevadans,” Murren said in the release. “In today’s hyper-competitive market of medical supplies, it is critical that we have readily available funds to seize opportunities to purchase necessary supplies every time appropriate sourcing is secured. While this is significant progress, there is much more work to be done to ensure our State’s recovery. In this initial phase, we continue to focus all our efforts on meeting the immediate needs of Nevada’s medical and nonprofit communities during this unprecedented time.”
Medical supplies targeted
Murren said the task force is continuing to work on developing leads for obtaining personal protective equipment, surgical masks, N95-equivalent CDC-approved respirator masks, medical gloves and medical gowns to be purchased with the donations.
The COVID-19 task force was set up by Gov. Steve Sisolak to source, obtain and distribute badly needed medical equipment and supplies via the private sector. The task force said recently it carried out its first significant acquisition of masks, surgical gowns, gloves and sanitizer.
The personal protective equipment, or PPE, includes 241,000 N95 or N95-equivalent masks, 1 million pairs of gloves, 2,000 surgical gowns, 700,000 surgical masks, and 100 gallons of hand sanitizer, according to the group. The items are being distributed by the state based on need, with assistance of the state National Guard, which was mobilized Wednesday by the governor.
Murren is the former CEO of MGM Resorts.
Contact Glenn Puit at gpuit@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0390. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.
