Medical Students Organize PPE Donation Drive for Providers

BURLINGTON (VT) – A group of University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine students are spearheading a drive to stockpile PPE for the college and for providers at the University of Vermont Medical Center.

The medical students are looking to collect unused PPE from dentists, nonmedical labs, secondary schools, meat-packing plants, medical spas, nail salons, and other businesses and locations around Vermont that are currently closed or operating at a reduced level. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a shortage of protective gear around the country – including in Vermont.

“There is a massive shortage of PPE throughout a lot of communities. Our hospital network is actually pretty well off, but the number of COVID-19 cases in our area has us concerned and carefully conserving our supplies. We are hoping this donation drive will help shore up the stores of PPE for our fellow health care providers,” said Vivek Chittineni, MD, anesthesiology resident physician at UVM Medical Center.

The students are working with Amy Lynn Teleron, MD, assistant professor of medicine at LCOM and McKenna Lee, a senior project manager for supply chain services at UVV Medical Center, to coordinate the collection effort.

The team is accepting:

• N95 Masks
• Face masks
• CAPRs and other respirators
• Gloves
• Face Shields
• Safety Goggles
• Gowns
• Coveralls/bunny suits

Additionally, the team is also collecting bleach, peroxide, hand sanitizer, and cleaning wipes. Donated items will remain in storage at the Larner College of Medicine for a week to decontaminate. The medical center can accept N95 respirators, gowns, bouffants, and cloth masks that are manufactured or sewn using guidelines on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s website, and will collaborate with the College and the State of Vermont to redistribute the remainder. 

“Seeing how dire situations have already gotten in places like New York City and Seattle, places where doctors and nurses are working without the appropriate PPE, we had an opportunity to get ahead of a possible shortage here,” said Carolyn Geraci, a third-year medical student. “We're trying to provide a stop-gap if it does become a problem in Vermont.”

Donations are being accepted Monday through Friday between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., and on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. at the Given building loading dock. The group is also accepting donations by mail. Please email vtcovid19 [at] gmail.com about the donation and then send to:

PPE INITIATIVE
Given C108
89 Beaumont Ave
Burlington, VT 05405

For more details on how to donate or volunteer, visit: vtcovid.com/donate. Find information about more ways to support UVM Medical Center/UVM Health Network health care workers on the UVM Medical Center COVID-19 Response Fund webpage.

About the University of Vermont Medical Center

The University of Vermont Medical Center is a 447-bed tertiary care regional referral center providing advanced care to approximately 1 million residents in Vermont and northern New York.  Together with our partners at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont and the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, we are Vermont’s academic medical center. The University of Vermont Medical Center also serves as a community hospital for approximately 150,000 residents in Chittenden and Grand Isle counties. 

The University of Vermont Medical Center is a member of The University of Vermont Health Network, an integrated system established to deliver high quality academic medicine to every community we serve.

For more information visit www.UVMHealth.org/MedCenter or visit our Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and blog sites at www.UVMHealth.org/MedCenterSocialMedia.

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