July 29, 2021 – HealthTrust presented Ford Motor Company with the inaugural Challenge Accepted Award in recognition of Project Apollo, the auto maker’s contribution to manufacture and deliver personal protective equipment (PPE) to hospitals, first responders, and at-risk communities during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Initiated in March 2020, Ford, in partnership with United Auto Workers, produced and distributed millions of units of PPE to help protect healthcare providers and communities across the U.S. – at no cost to the receiving organizations.
Under Project Apollo, Ford’s workforce produced:
- 120 million face masks
- 22 million face shields
- 6 million washable isolation gowns
- 50,000 patient ventilators (by the end of August)
- More than 32,000 powered air-purifying respirators in collaboration with 3M
“The work that Ford did in accepting and rising to the challenge that COVID presented to all of us was significant and made a huge difference in terms of our ability to support our members with the critical supplies and equipment they needed to treat patients and keep their staffs safe,” said David Osborn, HealthTrust senior vice president, Account Management and Sales. “It was an absolutely amazing feat that impacted countless lives across the country and we are forever grateful to Ford and the UAW.”