March 31, 2020 –
We are in the process of sending thousands of hygiene kits to various organizations throughout New Jersey, including Coming Home of Middlesex County, Inc., which is a nonprofit with a mission of creating a system to end homelessness in the Middlesex County.
Hygiene is critical during this time, especially in vulnerable populations, and we are so grateful for organizations like Coming Home of Middlesex County, Inc. for working to protect people in their communities.
March 27, 2020 –
Today, we delivered hygiene kits to the Greater New Brunswick Day Care Council in New Jersey. We are grateful for all of our partners and supporters who make deliveries like this possible. We agree with the organization’s Executive Director when he said, “You can see from these photos what a great impact you are making.”
March 26, 2020 –
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “People experiencing unsheltered homelessness (those sleeping outside or in places not meant for human habitation) may be at risk for infection when there is community spread of COVID-19.” Hygiene kits can play an important role in the fight against COVID-19 spread by providing supplies needed for safety and cleanliness. Many of the hygiene kits Heart to Heart International has delivered have been to partners providing services to those experiencing homelessness, including Hope Faith in Kansas City.
March 25, 2020 –
Almost 3,000 hygiene kits have been shipped to Catholic Charities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, an organization dedicated to caring for the most vulnerable populations in its community. The kits, assembled by Ecolab, provide essential hygiene items, especially critical in this time of global crisis.
Thank you, FedEx, for delivering these urgently needed supplies so quickly!
March 24, 2020 –
Heart to Heart International delivered sanitizing wipes, procedure masks, surgical masks and hand sanitizer to help protect the hard-working health professionals at the University of Kansas Health Systems.
March 23, 2020 –
Heart to Heart International staff delivered more than 3,000 hygiene kits in one day to organizations all around the Kansas City Metro, including:
- Evergreen Living Innovations
- Resurrection Overland Park Food Pantry
- Lenexa Baptist Church
- Catholic Charities
- Cross Lines
- HopeFaith Homeless Assistance Campus
- Our Lady of Hope
March 22, 2020 –
Heart to Heart International (HHI) is deploying its Mobile Medical Unit and volunteer healthcare providers to assist Sharon Lee Family Health Care in Kansas City, Kansas. The Mobile Medical Unit (MMU) will provide support for the drive-thru COVID-19 testing the clinic is performing.
“Health care services are absolutely critical right now. We are working to provide as much assistance as possible to facilities and workers on the front lines of this epidemic. Partnering with an organization doing so much good in our own community is one way of doing that,” Kim Carroll, HHI CEO, said.
The clinic is a nonprofit Federally Qualified Community Health Center serving people in need in Wyandotte County. It is providing COVID-19 testing to people with a prescription from their doctor. The MMU will be stationed at the clinic at 300-340 Southwest Boulevard KC, KS 66103 starting on Sunday, March 22.
March 21, 2020 –
Heart to Heart International began working in conjunction with the Wyandotte County Department of Public Health to support a KCK health clinic’s COVID-19 hotline.
Kim Carroll, Heart to Heart International CEO, worked a shift on March 21, 2020 (pictured). More volunteers are needed, and they will be trained on-site to take calls and ask screening questions.
Get more information and sign up here.
March 20, 2020 –
This morning HHI made a delivery of 1,500 critically needed masks to Health Partnership Clinic.
The clinic, which provides health care to the community regardless of a patient’s ability to pay, is in desperate need of supplies like this to protect the safety of its patients and staff while carrying out day-to-day operations.
March 18, 2020 –
Heart to Heart International delivered 900 hygiene kits to the Olathe Fire Department fire department to be distributed to people in need stuck at home during this crisis.
If you are in need, call the Olathe FD at 913-971-7900; press “4”; and, leave your name, number and address. Their goal is to deliver kits within 24 hours.
Fire Chief Jeff DeGraffenreid said, “Partnerships like this are invaluable, especially during challenging times.” “Good hygiene helps health,” he added.
The kits were assembled by the students and staff at Linwood Elementary school as a way of paying back after a tornado damaged their community last year.
If you want to help, you can sponsor a kit (or three) by donating at https://bit.ly/3dgTiAK
March 16, 2020
In times of crisis, the work of Heart to Heart International is critical. We have been monitoring the COVID-19 situation carefully. Taking guidance from the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, local governments and local public health authorities, along with the expertise from our internal medical and disaster specialists, we have been diligently implementing our COVID-19 Pandemic Response plan.
We know the need for quality health care is not only necessary right now, it is imperative. We are continuing our distribution of critical medicines to our partners here and around the world. Urgently needed equipment and medication will save lives, and we are delivering it to providers on the front lines. Our ongoing work with local, domestic and international organizations means we can provide what is most needed when it is needed most.
This is what we do.
As you know, this is a constantly evolving situation, and by continuing our close communication with health officials, we stand ready to respond to the needs of both the people affected by this epidemic and the healthcare workers fighting it.
Our hearts are with everyone during this difficult time, and we at Heart to Heart International remain steadfast in our commitment to helping the most vulnerable among us – around the world, across the country and down the street.
We cannot do this alone. We need your help.
Donate today and join the fight.
March 11, 2020
Update from Marshall Islands COVID-19 deployment
In February, after the COVID-19 virus was declared a “public health emergency of international concern,” the World Health Organization requested Heart to Heart International (HHI) deploy a team to the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) to support planning, preparedness and training to minimize the risk of importation and potential local transmission of COVID-19.
“Heart to Heart International has extensive expertise in infection control and quarantine from its work in Liberia at the height of the Ebola epidemic as well as cholera outbreaks in Haiti. Using that expertise, we are able to instruct on and create appropriate procedures to help medical personnel on the island contain and manage any potential virus outbreak.” – Dr. Rick Randolph, HHI Chief Medical Officer
The Marshall Islands has been experiencing an ongoing dengue outbreak for more than six months and as a result, the health infrastructure has already been overwhelmed. The guidance and expertise provided by HHI’s team will help the staff and health system avoid or manage any future outbreaks.
During the response, the HHI team performed:
- An examination of the Ministry of Health’s quarantine space, providing guidance on Infection Prevention and Control and patient control;
- Training on Infection Prevention and Control (including correct/appropriate use of PPE) to healthcare workers and to staff members at Amata Kabua International Airport, the Marshall Islands’ largest port of entry;
- Case management planning for the isolation space for COVID-19, including treatment of individuals in isolation and in quarantine.
Because of travel restrictions, the HHI team demobilized and is providing continued support remotely for the remainder of March. This includes plans for clinical staffing and safe patient transport mechanisms and ongoing training for staff on IPC across the health system.
The need for quality health care right now is imperative. The training and procedures put in place in the Marshall Islands and during the Ebola epidemic position HHI as uniquely qualified to consult and respond to this national emergency. HHI continues to distribute critical medicines to partners domestically and around the world. This urgently needed equipment and medication will save lives.
This crisis continues to evolve, and HHI is committed to its mission of helping the most vulnerable populations by working with health leaders, medical facilities, and government officials as COVID-19 continues to impact more people across the United States and world.
