Rush Medical College students Manvita Tatavarthy and Karina Oelerich have organized a PPE collection drive in Wicker Park to support all Chicago-area hospitals and health care providers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Manvita and Karina are both second-year medical students who are home in California, studying for the Step 1 U.S. Medical Licensing Exam required before they begin their third-year clerkships. Yet, across the country, they enlisted about a dozen other medical students to collect unopened packages of masks (N95, surgical and procedural), disposable gloves, hand sanitizer, disinfectants and wipes, protective goggles or face shields. Any donations of unused packages or handmade face masks will be given to community organizations in need of supplies.
The Rush University students are collaborating with students from Chicagoland’s six other medical colleges who formed the COVID Rapid Response Team Chicago to coordinate PPE collections and other volunteer efforts.
They will collect the items at the corner of North Damen and West Schiller Avenues from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Friday, April 3, through Wednesday, April 8. Of course, they will be wearing gloves and practicing social distancing.
For more information, contact covidppedonations@rush.edu.
