Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine
Poverty and Assistance:
Homeless Population Initiative led by the Public Health and Preventative Medicine Interest Group and Dr. Gregory Schneider.
Contact Information:
Matt Hey (mhey001@med.fiu.edu)
Academic Tutoring:
HOPE (Helping Out Medical Education): Working to connect medical students with elementary, middle, and high school students of Miami-Dade County Public Schools to offer free remote tutoring.
Contact Information:
Matt Hey (mhey001@med.fiu.edu)
Resource Production and Acquisition:
PPE Drive and Collection led by Mackenzie Mayhew (M2).
Contact Information:
Matt Hey (mhey001@med.fiu.edu)
Food Services:
Students in our Rotaract are working with Rotaract of Miami to buy meals from small business to give to healthcare workers and volunteers. Led by Matison Alderman (M2).
Contact Information:
Matt Hey (mhey001@med.fiu.edu)
Clinical Work:
Working with local hospitals and pharmacies to be able to deliver medications to patients in the community (especially vulnerable populations).
Contact Information:
Matt Hey (mhey001@med.fiu.edu)
The Florida State University College of Medicine
Fundraising:
Elizabeth Dennison and Yasmine Humeda have collected over $500 in monetary donations and used the funding to purchase gift cards from local restaurants. The gift cards were then distributed to healthcare workers and support staff at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, FL. Our mission for this project is twofold: to support small local restaurants that have been impacted financially, and to take some burden off of the heroic hospital staff who are working so diligently during these unprecedented times; we hope to continue fundraising in order to further support the other local hospitals for the duration of this pandemic.
Contact Information:
Elizabeth Dennison (eah13d@med.fsu.edu) or Yasmine Humeda (ysh13@med.fsu.edu)
Outreach and Social Media:
The Coronavirus Kindness Project was launched in April 2020 to track and visualize news stories of kindness and acts of humanity as the world collectively faces the COVID-19 pandemic. The predominantly negative nature of the barrage of information on the pandemic may result in increased anxiety and take a toll on our mental health. The goal of this project is to be a centralized location of the positivity, kindness, and humanity of our local, national, and global neighbors. View our website here.
Contact Information:
Vinita Akula and Gabriela Cintron (coronaviruskindnessproject@gmail.com)
Research and Data Collection:
All third year medical students at FSU COM are tasked with initiating and developing a year-long quality improvement project that tackle varying subjects, and our group for the project worked under the guidance of Asim Jani MD, MPH, the hospital epidemiologist for Orlando Health ORMC. We collaborated on the development of a web-based resource that would serve as an empowerment tool for healthcare workers facing questions about common emerging infections and healthcare-associated infections; however due to the concurrent COVID-19 pandemic, we decided to direct additional resources and information towards empowering healthcare workers and the general public as this public health emergency ensues. View our website here.
Contact Information:
Dr. Asim Jani (asim.jani@orlandohealth.com), Ian Motie (ikm12@med.fsu.edu), Nicole Jimenez (nyj13@med.fsu.edu), or Matthew Young (my17@med.fsu.edu)
Resource Production and Acquisition:
We’ve made and donated over 300 Halyard face masks that have been distributed to health care workers and their families, as well as our local community members. Our goal is to continue supplying masks to the community as well as our local hospitals, nursing homes and undeserved populations. Please refer to the Google Drive for more information (mask patterns, tutorials, volunteer sign-up sheet, etc.).
Contact Information:
Julianna Kacheris (jmg12f@med.fsu.edu) or Kaylee Denmark (ked14c@med.fsu.edu)
University of Central Florida College of Medicine
Food Services:
We are a group of medical students who want to take a powerful action to help our Central Florida neighbors in need. Help our team reach our goal by donating to one of our team members! Donations go directly to Second Harvest Bank to buy food in bulk to deliver to low-income families. These families include local children, seniors, low-income families, and others who are struggling to put enough food on their tables this year.
Contact Information:
Dr. Judith Simms-Cendan (judith.simms-cendan@ucf.edu)
University of Florida College of Medicine
Clinical Work:
Students from the UF College of Medicine are assisting in screening seniors in The Villages for COVID-19. Currently, The Villages is home to 130,000 residents who are at a higher risk for serious health complications resulting from contracting the COVID-19 virus.
The students trained under the guidance of Michael Lauzardo, M.D., deputy director of the UF Emerging Pathogens Institute and an associate professor in the division of infectious diseases and global medicine at the UF College of Medicine. Students were instructed in methods for assisting the health care professionals who will be administering the tests and received important information about the appropriate use of personal protection equipment, as outlined by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.
Contact Information:
Dr. Michael Lauzardo ((352) 294-5480)
University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine
Poverty and Assistance:
Animal fostering for the shelters in Miami, Broward, and West Palm.
Contact Information:
Leah Colucci (l.colucci@med.miami.edu)
Visitation and Check-In:
Buddy System MIA: Help transport groceries and resources to the elders in our community and other immunocompromised people who cannot be leaving their homes for supplies.
Contact Information:
Wellness:
Canes for Crisis Counseling: Crisis Text Line is a free, 24/7 text line for people in crisis in the US. The service is powered by volunteer Crisis counselors.
Contact Information:
Kyla Rakoczy (813-244-2471)
General Services:
Miami Med COVID Help for Healthcare Workers: aims to relieve some of the burden of COVID-19 panic on HCWs. Everything from writing notes of appreciation to dog walking and grocery pick ups, etc.
Contact Information:
Alison Ohringer (aohringer@med.miami.edu)
Resource Production and Acquisition:
Organizing safe drop off points for PPE and other equipment for physicians around Miami.
Contact Information:
Alison Ohringer (aohringer@med.miami.edu)
Fundraising:
PPE for MIA Resident Physicians fighting COVID-19: https://www.gofundme.com/f/ppe-for-resident-doctors-on-front-line-of-covid19. We are fundraising to get the PPE that is essential for us to maintain the workforce to treat our patients in a safe manner, prevent spread in hospitals, and provide safety for the community.
Contact Information:
Chandra (917-830-6707)
Research and Data Collection:
Sequential Organ Failure Assessment: Evaluating charts of ICU patients to measure progress. Create an unbiased algorithm for if there is a ventilator shortage. Create a Contact: Prefer not to provide one, due to previous issues with the media and protection of our patients.
Contact Information:
Internal Activity
Information Hotline:
The COVID19 Hotline is a partnership between the Florida Department of Health and the Miami Poison Control Center, established to answer the public’s questions related to coronavirus and its impact on their communities. This hotline has been running 24/7 since March 13th, 2020 and is staffed and managed by medical student volunteers from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
Contact Information:
Alessandra Della Porta (acd143@med.miami.edu)