MIAMI – The need during the coronavirus pandemic is so dire that Medical Supply Drive volunteers are even collecting bandanas and plastic rain ponchos.
In an effort to meet the rising needs of the medical community, a group of third-year medical students at Georgetown University teamed up to start the Medical Supply Drive Coalition a few weeks ago.
Sarah Roberts, who is the organization’s coordinator in South Florida, said their mission is to empower volunteers to help collect and donate unused personal protective equipment.
“We really need everybody on the ground in this fight,” Roberts said.
The equipment must be unused. The list of items needed includes surgical masks, N95 masks, face shields, non-latex gloves, medical/surgical gowns, goggles, bleach wipes and hand sanitizers.
“Everybody can play a part in this,” said Roberts, who works in public health research. “Even if they don’t have transportation ... we can always use more people.”