PCOM DONATES PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT TO LOCAL HOSPITALS
April 1, 2020
In the wake of COVID-19, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) is doing its part to respond to the needs of local healthcare systems by donating its supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) to those on the front lines of the pandemic. Across the country, there has been a shortage of PPE, putting healthcare workers at increased risk of contracting the disease. These contributions will help to ensure that local healthcare workers have the supplies they need to treat patients safely.
“These supplies come from our clinical learning and assessment center (CLAC) and division of research here on campus,” said Patrick Wolf, MBA, chief occupational and environmental safety officer at PCOM. “While students would usually don this personal protective equipment in preparation for their hands-on learning, we felt it was vitally important to get these resources to the people who would need them most, the health systems in our community that will be facing this pandemic head on,” continued Mr. Wolf.
To date, PCOM has donated surgical gowns, protective latex and nitrile gloves and N95 respirator masks. N95 respirator masks, in particular, are important for healthcare professionals as they conform to the face of the person wearing them. When worn properly, these masks ensure the person wearing them is not breathing contaminated air. Due to increased demand, there has been a national shortage of N95 respirators.
STUDENTS RAISE FUNDS TO DONATE FACE MASKS
April 2, 2020
In the wake of the global pandemic caused by COVID-19, a group of students at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) have responded to the growing need for personal protective equipment (PPE) and formed Medical Students for Masks, a group of medical and nursing students in the Philadelphia area dedicated to raising funds to secure FDA-approved N95 respirator masks for local health professionals.
The group was organized and is being led by osteopathic medicine students Gabrielle Yankelvich (DO ’21) and Judy Lubas (DO ’21). Finding themselves pulled from their third-year rotations, Gabrielle and Judy felt compelled to join the fight against COVID-19 any way they could. In collaboration with Briana Krewson (DO ’23) and Mark Siden (DO ’21), they started Medical Students for Masks. Since mid-March, Medical Students for Masks has raised over $36,000 and secured over 7,000 masks to be distributed to local healthcare systems, first responders and home health agencies.
