Growing list of companies donate to Ukraine

YARMOUTH, Maine – Hospital beds, wound care supplies and mobility aids top the list of medical equipment needed for humanitarian aid in Ukraine, says Chris Brand, president and CEO of Friends of Disabled Adults and Children (FODAC). 

The nonprofit recently shipped more than $40,000 worth of donated equipment and supplies to Poland to aid Ukrainian refugees in response to a request from a Rotary International coalition, and it’s in the process of pulling together another shipment for Romania. 

“It’s been a stretch to do international (relief) in the past but now we have international partners, which helps with logistics,” said Brand, who is also working with Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, The American Red Cross, The Salvation Army USA and Team Rubicon. 

Other industry stakeholders that have stepped up, too, including Owens & Minor, which donated $500,000 worth of medical-grade personal protective equipment; and RedDress, which has shipped 400 of its ActiGraft wound care systems to hospitals in Ukraine. 

For providers who want to help, especially if they don’t have a large infrastructure, Brand recommends going to the VOAD website, nvoad.org, or searching for other organizations like Convoy of Hope or Operation Blessing. Aid organizations can not only get supplies and equipment where they need to go but also understand what the greatest needs are. 

“It needs to be vetted that it is a high-need item and it can’t be expired,” he said. “We do have a list we are shopping around nationally. We’re even helping with medicine and filling those orders from hospitals too.” 

AZ MediQuip is partnering with Project C.U.R.E, an organization it has worked with in the past, to donate 20 hospital beds and a pallet of bandages to relief efforts in Ukraine. 

“As a business, we always look for ways to give back,” said Mark Nicotera, founder of AZ MediQuip. “Ukraine was one of those humanitarian things where you ask, ‘How can I help?’ Yes, we can always give money, but a lot of people want something more hands on. Hospital beds and bandages give them a chance to do something tangible.”