Students send supplies to hurricane-damaged hospital in Puerto Rico
During Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico was heavily damaged and many hospitals are still struggling to care for their patients. After seeing the devastation, a group of EVMS students decided they wanted to help.
The students, who are part of the EVMS chapter of REMEDY (Recovered Medical Equipment for the Developing World) and Nancy's Community Closet, gathered over 230 pounds of medical supplies for a children’s hospital in need and sent the items via FedEx.
Alexandra Leader, MD, MPH, Director of Global Health, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and organization advisor, felt the project was a natural fit. “We utilize unused and recyclable medical equipment from our hospitals and community to directly address specific medical needs of under-resourced hospitals and clinics, in this case a Puerto Rican children’s hospital in the wake of Hurricane Maria and in the setting of inadequate local infrastructure for disaster relief,” Dr. Leader says. “This is global health in action, working together to responsibly and sustainably address health inequities everywhere.”
REMEDY is a national organization that is committed to working with local and international partners to bring medical supplies recovered from our hospitals and community to meet the specific needs of clinics and hospitals all over the world.
Nancy's Community Closet is named in honor of the late Nancy Kelly, a beloved environmental advocate and global spirit of the EVMS MD Class of 2019. It is the second arm of the organization, committed to recovering new and durable medical supplies for redistribution to patients in need within our local community.