Coe alumna making a difference behind the scenes of COVID-19
Victoria Vuckovic ’17
Coe alumna and first-year medical school student Victoria Vuckovic ’17 is fueled by the need to make a difference. In addition to attending virtual classes, Victoria plays a vital role in #GetMePPE Chicago. Along with other medical school students, she is part of this organization that collects personal protective equipment (PPE) for health care workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“One minute I was in medical school in Chicago and the next minute I was in my car driving to my dad’s house in North Carolina,” Victoria said. “Our generation has lived through the effects of 9/11, and now we’re living through a pandemic. We have experienced so many life-shattering feelings.” Those strong feelings have compelled Victoria and many other young professionals to make a difference in their communities.
#GetMePPE Chicago consists of a large network of medical students asking businesses for PPE or financial donations toward the purchase of PPE. “It’s almost like a virtual assembly line,” Victoria said. Each volunteer is given only one job, and many can be done remotely while limiting contact with the public. Those jobs consist of researching and creating lists of businesses, contacting businesses to ask for donations and scheduling pick up or delivery of donations.
Businesses they are receiving donations from include pharmaceutical, veterinarian, construction, biotech and extermination companies. “These types of companies have the capacity to donate items in bulk,” Victoria said. To date, #GetMePPE Chicago has secured approximately 2,500 N95 masks, 3,400 face masks, 1,100 shields, 1,100 boxes of gloves, 800 gowns and more.
“We want health care workers to have enough PPE to be able to go home after their shift and snuggle their kids without being worried,” Victoria said. “Most people don’t realize you can purchase a five-pack of N95 masks and protect five health care workers for up to five days for less than $20.
“Being a part of #GetMePPE Chicago gives me hope that there will always be people in our community that care, especially when people are putting their life in danger,” Victoria said. “I often think this could be me someday, and I would hope there would be people working to help keep me safe.”
To learn more about #GetMePPE Chicago, visit https://sites.google.com/view/getmeppechi/home.