Presbyterian College School of Pharmacy responded quickly when the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) issued an urgent request to academic institutions for personal protective equipment last Friday, March 20th. As the COVID-19 pandemic accelerates, a top concern for those in the healthcare field is access to this equipment.
PC Pharmacy School Dean Dr. Kurt Wargo said, “The demand for personal protective equipment is currently greater than the available supply.” On hearing the request from DHEC, Dr. Wargo approved the donation of many of the supplies in the School’s hospital simulation lab. “We are facing an unprecedented time in our world’s history,” he said, noting “We need to do our part to help fight this viral pandemic. Helping those in need is what pharmacists are known for, and it’s simply the right thing to do in this case.”
The School of Pharmacy donated more than 1,000 pieces of personal protective equipment, including alcohol pads, eye protection, gloves, hand sanitizer, hand soap and medical gowns.
Dr. Tiffaney Threatt, associate professor of pharmacy and director of the Pharmacy School’s Wellness Center, helped gather the supplies to send to DHEC. The organization then distributed the items to first responders, hospitals and nursing homes.
Dean Wargo said, “Many healthcare workers are serving at full capacity during this time and risking their own safety. “In this national and global response, healthcare workers are serving on the frontline and must be protected as a valuable yet vulnerable resource. Providing adequate equipment is the first step.”
Hopefully, the manufacturing supply of personal protective equipment will soon catch up with the demand, Wargo says. Until then, DHEC will continue to collect supplies and distribute them to facilities and healthcare workers in need.
During the pandemic, Wargo and others at the PC School of Pharmacy have also worked with Good Shepherd Free Medical Clinic in Laurens to provide emergency supplies of medications to patients in need.
“‘While we live, we serve’ is more than a campus motto for Presbyterian College,” Wargo noted. “They’re words that students, alumni, faculty and staff truly live by. In uncertain times such as these, there is even more reason to serve others.”
