Hartford HealthCare is responding to the never-ending need for medical supplies as the war in Ukraine rages on.
On Thursday, staff at Hartford HealthCare's supply chair warehouse packed up an ambulance filled with lifesaving medical supplies to send over to war-torn Ukraine.
The ambulance is being transported to the city of Irpin that's been devastated by bombings.
"They have stretchers, they have some lifesaving equipment they have transfer boards mobilization boards..." Joseph Aferzon, a neurosurgeon at Hartford Healthcare, said.
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He took a desperate call from a friend in Ukraine who made him aware of the dire situation in the city which is next to Kyiv.
Lillia Taschuk, who works for the healthcare improvement company Premier Inc., said the city of Irpin went from having 109 ambulances to less than 10 after being damaged by bombings.
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Premier and Hartford HealthCare worked together to repurpose the ambulance that was about to be decommissioned.
"Donating this ambulance is truly saving lives," Taschuk said.
The ambulance should arrive in the city of Irpin in about two weeks.
Included in the full list of items are thousands of masks, hundreds of gowns, dozens of splint bags and countless needles and syringes. Aferzon said they have planned a logistic route to get the ambulance to the city safely.
"Sometimes they'll buy cars and paint them and refurbish them so to have something that's large and dedicated to specifically transport critical patients, I think it's very valuable," he said.
