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SOS donates thousands in supplies of PPE to Clark Memorial Hospital

Around $25,000 worth of PPE was donated to Clark Memorial Hospital on Thursday by Louisville-based global health organization SOS.

CLARK COUNTY, Ind. — Around $25,000 worth of PPE was donated to Clark Memorial Hospital on Thursday by Louisville-based global health organization SOS.

It comes as healthcare workers face shortages of equipment across the country.

"A lot of the things you're hearing from other parts of the country are a concern here,” said Clark County Health Officer Eric Yazel."We've got a great local response planned but there are some fixed obstacles that we're going to run up against if we get a big surge."

Yazel says those fixed obstacles include ventilators and ICU beds, adding that as more cases are determined in the county, more PPE will need to be used. Still, he says the county is in a good place.

"We're as well-positioned as we could be currently,” he said.


Clark County officials say they have contingency plans, but those haven’t had to be tapped into yet. Large donations of PPE like the one received from SOS play a big part in that.  

“We brought surgical masks, we brought protective gowns we brought N95s we brought eye protection gear,” said Denise Sears, the president and CEO of SOS.

Sears says more than three thousand pieces of protective equipment was donated on Thursday. SOS is known for redistributing surplus medical supplies to medically impoverished communities overseas. Sears says they target communities with the greatest need.

“Six weeks ago we realized it was our community that was in greatest need,” she said.

A portion of the donated supplies went to the hospital, and a portion went to local first responders.

"This has allowed us to get that tactical reserve built back up so we can hopefully flatten this curve and keep our workers safe,” said Brandon Skaggs with the Clarksville Fire Department.

Supplies of PPE has been low at some points in the county, leading to the prioritization of distribution to first responders. The director of Clark County Emergency Management Gavan Hebner says this donation changed that.

"The supplies that we've been given we're going to try to make care packages for first responders in our county so they have an initial response package,” said Hebner.
Yazel says finding more local sources for essential items is important as cases continue to climb across the region.
"We have always been operating under the assumption that we might have to just take care of things here locally and donations like this are huge for that goal,” said Yazel. "We're all working together and all on the same page and communication has been good and that's essential in a time like this."

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