Hoya Connection: Puerto Rico Relief

One of our fellow Hoyas is an MD/MPH and Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellow who has been supporting the Society for Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) in their effort to collect and dispatch a variety of non-medical supplies needed by Pediatric ICUs in Puerto Rico. While this is outside our normal scope, an alumna working in service of a worthy cause deserves our assistance in reaching the greater Georgetown community and beyond. Hospitals are still struggling to provide basic services as the island begins the long process of recovering from Hurricane Maria. In this case, the patients they serve are critically ill infants and children.

SCCM has posted an Amazon wishlist to simplify the giving process. It was created in partnership with facilities in Puerto Rico to ensure that all donations meet actual needs, are not redundant, and will not go to waste. Many of the items cost less than $10 and will be sent directly from SCCM’s headquarters to the healthcare facilities, meaning remarkably few degrees of separation exist between donors and those who will benefit from their generosity. (Note: The shipping address of the organization will appear as an option on your checkout page.)

The full list of requested items is available here: http://amzn.to/2fNc7lU

In their own words, “The Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) is the largest non-profit medical organization dedicated to promoting excellence and consistency in the practice of critical care. With members in more than 100 countries, SCCM is the only organization that represents all professional components of the critical care team. The Society offers a variety of activities that ensures excellence in patient care, education, research and advocacy. [Our] mission is to secure the highest quality care for all critically ill and injured patients.”

This obviously has nothing to do with basketball, but helping sick kids is a unifying human purpose that aligns well with the Jesuit objective of being men and women for others. If you’ve somehow overlooked making a disaster relief contribution thus far and have a few dollars to spare, here is one more option to consider.

Hoya Saxa.