In an effort to support healthcare workers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic, Perkins Coie has donated 4,000 N95 respirator masks to hospitals in Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, and New York. The firm had the masks on hand as part of its firmwide emergency preparedness initiatives, and in particular, following the 2009 H1N1 crisis.

The idea to donate the masks to hospitals in the United States originated with one of the firm’s Chicago-based paralegals. “In a time when each of us feels utterly powerless to help, I knew there was something Perkins Coie could do. In my mind, each one of those masks represents a life that could be saved, or a healthcare provider who can safely save many other lives with proper protection,” said Rachel Leibowitz.

Hospitals receiving the donated masks include UW Medicine in Seattle, the University of Chicago’s Knapp Center for Biomedical Discovery, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, and Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York.