Ford Motor Co. donates 3,000 face shields to Memorial Hospital in Santa Rosa

Smiles shined brightly Thursday behind high-quality face shields delivered to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, which received a shipment of 3,000 medical shields from Ford Motor Co.

“They’re really the good ones,” said Andrea Learned, vice president of development at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital Foundation.

Henry Hansel of Sonoma County’s Hansel Auto Group phoned Memorial last week to say that Ford might be able to help out with personal protection equipment, which is in short supply across the United States.

Just then, Learned said, regional St. Joseph leaders were working to find or make 1,000 face shields. Elated by the prospect of receiving some from Ford, they applied for a donation.

“It worked,” Learned said Thursday. “Today there were 3,000 new masks on our loading dock!”

The arrival of the gift at this time of great need by St. Joseph Health nurses and others caring for patients with COVID-19 and other respiratory ailments, said Learned, “felt downright religious.”