Protecting and Resourcing Our Frontline Partners

When our March 2020 travel was cancelled, 1,500lbs of vital medical supplies were marooned in our Evanston office. Delivering these materials to our partners in Bolivia became a key theme within our  COVID response along with procuring additional supplies they would need to continue providing essential care throughout the pandemic. 

Throughout the past year, we’ve sent five emergency shipments to our sister organization in Bolivia, Puente de Solidaridad, (PdS) and one to our partners in Paraguay. The delivery of essential medical supplies has always been central to our mission, and now, evermore, a concrete way we can support our partners serving on the front lines, ensuring that they have the necessary resources to continue serving their communities. 

In addition to supplies to support patients in our year-round surgical programs, we also procured supplies for other complex health needs, including renal care, and cancer treatment. At the top of our wish list though, has been personal protective equipment (PPE) to ensure the safety of our medical partners in the course of their work. In this area, we found a terrific new donor in LTA Research and Exploration. 

Members of the staff at Puente de Solidaridad model the new protective facemasks.

At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, LTA Research and Exploration, a U.S. aerospace engineering company, set out to make a difference during the world wide shortages of PPE. Initially, using laser cutters and 3D printers, they were able to produce around 150 face shields per day to address the national PPE shortage. To make a bigger impact they leveraged their supply chain and partner network to rapidly produce over 5 million face shields and deliver them free of charge to hospitals, medical practices, and emergency service providers around the world.  

In late October, Solidarity Bridge received LTA’s donation of 51,000 face shields and managed the delivery to our partners at PdS who then began distributing them to hospitals and clinics throughout Bolivia. Within the first days of distribution, the PdS team managed to distribute masks to hospitals and health centers in four different departments across the country (Cochabamba, La Paz, Sucre, and Santa Cruz). They continue to make these face shields available to a growing number of medical personnel working on the front lines of this public health emergency.

Solidarity Bridge and Puente de Solidaridad extend our deepest thanks to LTA Research and Exploration for this momentous gift that is helping to save lives while protecting Bolivia’s invaluable resource of trained medical professionals.