UofL Interim President Lori Gonzalez and local officials gathered Friday to announce the effort through Supplies Overseas (SOS), an organization that works with area hospitals and healthcare providers to collect gently/unused medical supplies and send them to those in need. UofL surgeon Gordon Tobin, a founding board member of SOS, also participated in the announcement.

Former ambassador to the Slovak Republic Tod Sedgwick said his contacts in Ukraine stressed the need for medical supplies. The local organization has collected almost 20 pallets of supplies – worth more than $100,000 — including bandages, defibrillators, and anesthesia and orthopedic supplies, said SOS president Denise Sears. The organization also is sending personal protective equipment in response to Covid-19 concerns in the region.

SOS has worked with local philanthropist Christina Lee Brown to secure funding for the initiative, and officials from UPS have offered their services to help transport the supplies.

“This is a partnership of many elements of our compassionate community,” Tobin said, noting that the organization was created more than two decades ago by physicians at the UofL Department of Surgery, with early participation by UofL, Jewish and Norton hospitals. “And they continue to supply the needed supplies you see here today.”

Tobin said SOS has shipped more than $60 million in supplies to more than 106 countries around the world.

Gonzalez said UofL’s participation is an example of one of its Cardinal Principles, being a Community of Care. And she thanked those who have pulled the initiative together.

“This is an example of the university and the city stepping up to help those in need,” she said. “To the people of Ukraine, you are in our thoughts. You are in our prayers. And more importantly … we are able to take action to actually give help on the ground.”

People wishing to donate medical supplies can drop them off at the SOS headquarters, 1500 Arlington Avenue in Louisville, or request pick up for larger items. The first shipment of supplies to Ukraine is expected to leave Louisville early this week.

The group returned last week from a clinical and service learning trip to Thomonde, a region in the central part of the country, where they provided health screenings and education. This was the first time the School of Nursing sponsored a trip to Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere that faces serious barriers to health care.

“There is no place in Haiti that is not devastatingly poor,” said Marianne Hutti, PhD, APRN, School of Nursing professor who helped supervise the trip. “The clinics didn’t have some of the most basic things that they needed.”

Through Louisville-based nonprofit , the group brought about 150 pounds of medical supplies to clinics, including thermometers, stethoscopes, bandages, exam gloves, antiseptics and a baby scale.

The School of Nursing group, which included a nurse practitioner and a registered nurse who work in Louisville, treated more than 600 patients over five days in partnership with , a nonprofit that supports health care in Haiti.

Most in rural Haiti have little-to-no access to basic health care, hospitals, prenatal care, clean water or sanitation systems, according to Project Medishare. One in five children dies before reaching the age of 5.

Despite providing care with limited resources, Mary Kring, a student in the School of Nursing’s , broadened her abilities.

“I worked in the prenatal assessment area, which provided me with some new skills as I have never worked in this area before,” Kring said. “Twice, we were able to diagnose twins for expectant mothers using our hands, measuring tape and a Doppler ultrasound. The women were ecstatic to hear the news.”

Mary Allis, a BSN student at the School of Nursing’s extension campus in Owensboro, said working in Haiti was humbling and she plans to participate in another service learning trip through the school.

“During my time in Haiti, I got to experience more in depth what I had been getting to practice in my first semester of clinicals,” Allis said. “It was amazing to get to step out of my comfort zone and to help those around me.”

Supplies Over Seas is an organization dedicated to meeting health care needs in developing countries by recovering and redistributing surplus medical equipment.

“The BioMedical Engineering Society wanted to do something hands-on in the bioengineering field and at the same time help the community,” said Pravallika Kollipara, a junior BioMedical Engineering student. “Our first service event at SOS was in July of 2015 and I loved the experience and have continued volunteering there ever since.”