In response to the national shortage of medical supplies due to the spread of COVID-19, this week the Southern Adventist University School of Nursing donated personal protective equipment to two local hospitals, CHI Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga and AdventHealth Gordon in Calhoun, Georgia.

The supplies included N95 and surgical masks, gowns, and gloves, which would ordinarily be used in simulation exercises in the university’s nursing skills lab. With Southern’s transition to distance learning for the remainder of the semester, the school of nursing wanted to put the supplies to good use and reached out to some of their local healthcare partners.

“Even though the resources we have to offer are limited, we know that every little bit helps,” said Holly Gadd, Ph.D., school of nursing dean. “We value all of the partnerships we have with healthcare agencies, and we want to do our part. We are a team, all trying to pull together during difficult times and meet needs when and where we can.”

Continuously accredited since 1962, the School of Nursing currently has more than 800 nursing majors. Southern has a close working relationship with many local medical facilities, where both professors and upper level nursing students regularly work in clinical roles. Like healthcare professionals around the world, they are stepping up to the challenge, continuing to serve the community however they can in the face of the current pandemic.