Idahoans step up to donate medical supplies; Boise State, SmileDirectClub help, too
Car after car, donors drove through and dropped off personal protective equipment Saturday afternoon outside Albertsons Stadium.
Hands of Hope Northwest, a Nampa-based nonprofit, teamed up with Sen. Maryanne Jordan, Sen. Cherie Buckner-Webb and House of Representatives candidate Chris Mathias — all are Democrats — to host a drive-up donation drive for personal protective equipment (PPE).
Individuals and businesses were encouraged to donate PPE such as masks, gloves, hand sanitizer and bleach products in order to help health care workers in Idaho in the fight against COVID-19. The donations stacked up quickly.
“The goal is the type of items, not a set number. We basically want to collect whatever we can to try to contribute,” Jordan said. “A lot of people and businesses might have a lot of items in inventory that they might not be using at the same pace as they normally do and would be willing to share with health care providers.”
Lauren Cook and her husband, Quincey, were among the many individual residents contributing bottles of bleach and alcohol.
“Maybe it will be us next, you just have no idea. So if everyone pitches in with what they’ve got ... ” Lauren Cook said. “There is too much hoarding going on. Too much fear of the unknown, and this is our way of stopping that cycle.”
Nancy and Carl Boehme heard about the drive and wanted to help after they found some gloves in their cupboards.
“It’s just the right thing to do,” Nancy Boehme said. “We have to be able to take care of each other as best as we can.”
Many businesses, such as Boise Nail Supply, came through, donating large boxes of supplies on one trip and promising to return with more.
Todd Durbin, executive director of Hands of Hope Northwest, explained that the main goal is to help fill the gap for orders that hospitals are placing. St. Luke’s, Saint Alphonsus, Terry Reilly and Saltzer Medical Center are a few of the health care organizations the group aims to bolster with donations.
Saint Alphonsus has recently started accepting donations.
“We are accepting traditional PPE donations. Many industries use face masks and other protective gear that is also used by health care providers,” Saint Al’s spokesman Mark Snider wrote in an email to the Idaho Statesman. “We welcome these donations if they are in the original packaging and unopened.”
Saint Alphonsus is not asking for people to show up at facilities with donations; instead, they are urging the public to use larger donation collection efforts like Helping Hands and United Way. The United Way portal uses a form for materials people or businesses want to donate, and they will match those donations with a health care organization in need.
St. Luke’s also is accepting PPE donations, such as N95 masks, face shields and other protective gear used by heath care workers.
“St. Luke’s Supply Chain Management team continues to closely monitor supplies — especially critical items related to our response to COVID-19 that are in short supply,” Public Relations Manager Anita Kissee said in a written statement. “So far, we’ve been able to adjust where needed. Even so, we recognize the supply challenge that all health care providers are facing, and so we are particularly grateful to know our community cares and is looking out for our St. Luke’s caregivers.”
The effort, according to Jordan, was put together in five days. Although there are no current plans for a second drive, she is hopeful the group can do more to help, focusing on one effort at a time.
Boise State, SmileDirectClub offer help
Similar efforts are being taken by SmileDirectClub. The telehealth company based in Tennessee is delivering its first shipment of 1,000 medical-grade face shields to St. Luke’s in an effort to make personal protective equipment more accessible in hospitals across the nation.
With over 60 large HP 3D printers, SmileDirectClub is the largest 3D printer in the country.
Students and staff on Boise State University’s volunteer 3D printing team have been working from home to find ways to print effective equipment for health care workers. The group is made up of 17 students and 20 staff and faculty members who have teamed up with the support of local organizations.
According to an article by Boise State’s Anna Webb, “the next step will be for the university to reach out to local government leaders and those in the medical community to find out which products best fit local needs.”
“We can make 1,000 face shields with this crew in a couple of days,” said Amy Vecchione, associate professor and head of Emerging Technologies and Experiential Learning, in the article. “We’re just waiting for the call that says: ‘This is the model. Start making them.’ ”
Editor’s note: This story was updated March 30, 2020, to correct the donation policy for St. Luke’s.
This story was originally published March 28, 2020 at 3:05 PM.
