BOISE — Providing relief for health professionals during a pandemic is undoubtedly one way to get a real-world look into the medical field.
“Rhetorics and narratives and politics aside, I think this is a community effort, and we’re here to help," said medical student Lei Ye.
Along with the Idaho Chinese Organization, Ye, a first-year medical student at Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine, is donating 11,800 gloves, 400 surgical masks, and more wipes to St. Luke's.
“I think its important everybody comes together in this dire situation, and everyone has a part to play, and everyone has a way to contribute," said Ye.
Whether that’s a financial contribution or just staying at home, contributing to the slowdown of the virus spreading. St. Luke's says it has adequate supplies, but the generous donations add an extra buffer in case of the worst.
"There are people that are wanting to help, right, in this difficult time, let's work together," said organization president Yong Gao.
If you’ve been on social media, you may have read harmful rhetoric surrounding COVID-19, explicitly aimed at those of Chinese descent. Gao’s actions speak volumes louder than hate.
“I feel like right now is not the time to talk about politics, it's about life, it’s about health; let's keep our medical professionals let’s keep our community members healthy, that’s our first priority, politics we can always talk about later," said Gao.
The chaos does not deter Ye. If anything, he says it’s only inspired him more to continue pursuing this career path.
“To all the medical staff out there, and the front-line health workers you guys are the true heroes, I just wanted to let you know we’re thinking of you, we’re praying for you, you guys are the true heroes," said Ye.
St. Luke's full statement on managing medical supplies:
We are grateful for the many offers of support. The generosity of our community makes all the difference.
One of the many benefits of being part of St. Luke’s Health System is that resources can be allocated to the location that needs them.
Our Supply Chain Management team continues to closely monitor our supplies – especially critical items related to our response to COVID-19 that are in short supply. So far, we’ve been able to adjust where needed. It continues to be a challenge that all health care providers are facing.
Example: Conserving limited resources was one of the factors in our decision to suspend non-urgent/non-emergent operative and invasive procedures. It not only helps limit exposure risk to patients, staff and providers it also helps with the conservation of limited supplies.
Here’s the webpage with more information on how people can help:
https://www.stlukesonline.org/covid-response-how-you-can-help [stlukesonline.org]
