WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Face masks might be part of the new normal as companies like LA LOOP create fashion products to help people keep a mask nearby. Elizabeth Faraut, CEO of LA LOOP, also saw an opportunity to use her business contacts to help connect personal protective equipment supplies to hospitals in need.

“I have had this huge call to action to try and reach out to the people who make my products, reach out to those around me in Los Angeles to figure out how we can help,” Faraut said. 


What You Need To Know


  • CEO of fashion company saw need to address PPE supply problems

  • Partnered with other CEOs to create registry to help hospitals

  • Area hospitals remain in constant need of PPE

  • The hope is that registry will address that need

As donations throughout L.A. County began pouring into hospitals, Faraut realized that there wasn’t a one-stop list for hospitals to request donations they needed. 

“It was just the sort of magic moment of realizing that I could tap into people who were making the goods, and that there were people locally who wanted to help hospitals and fund the project and that there were hospitals in need,” Faraut said. 

That’s when Faraut, Emily Kane Miller, CEO of Ethos Giving, and Lisa Greer of Philanthropy 451 created the Greater Los Angeles Hospital Registry. It's a service provided by the Emergency Supply Donor Group. So far, more than 20 hospitals throughout the Greater Los Angeles area have listed their needs for N95 masks, gowns for medical staff, face shields and other PPE items.

Resident physicians like Erica Patel at the LAC + USC Medical Center are in constant need of these supplies. Patel believes this new registry will help hospitals receive items they need while being able to distribute surpluses to other hospitals that need supplies. 

“For the quantities that we have, while large, at the rate that we are using them because we are seeing so many COVID patients, we’re going to run out in a few weeks. That’s why we are constantly asking for donations. We’re continuously trying to find new avenues where we can buy more PPE but by no means do we have enough,” Patel said.

It’s a shortage, Faraut is trying to even out by giving donors a place to send in supplies.

“We’re hoping that this registry allows funders to see what’s needed to be able to click and buy and help those in need,” Faraut said.

In this time of uncertainty, Faraut hopes more people will take the time to see what they can give to help keep hospitals stocked with essentials as health care workers and communities continue to contend with the COVID-19 pandemic.