Food drive to help refugee and immigrants in Roanoke Valley

Refugee and Immigrant Medical Association (RIMA), launched an initiative to support Roanoke’s immigrant population, which numbers about 16,000 people. The group’s regular in-person Trails to Care Health Fair was not possible this year due to the pandemic, but the community’s needs were no less urgent. Over several days, the students collected and distributed food, hygiene, and household items along with health resources and information.

Aspiring physicians help fight outbreak

A group of third-year medical students has collected more than $4,000 in donations, which has been used to purchase personal protective equipment from manufacturers for local medical professionals. They’ve also been able to collect and donate more than 26,000 pairs of gloves, 1,525 surgical masks, 200 shoe covers, and 848 disinfectant items to eight different facilities in the Roanoke Valley. Follow SWVA Covid Response on Instagram.

Love in the time of COVID-19

Due to COVID-19, the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine moved its Match Day and graduation to virtual ceremonies. Now, many in the class are having to make similar decisions for their weddings.

Medical school alumni share their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic

The current COVID-19 pandemic has changed how every VTCSOM alum does their job, in big and small ways. This three-part series explores perspectives of how the pandemic is affecting alumni in different parts of the country.

VTCSOM assemble face shields for COVID-19

Students from the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine are volunteering their time to assemble face shields that teams from the Virginia Tech College of Engineering created using 3D printers. The shields are going to local health care organizations to protect workers from COVID-19.
Related story: Biomedical engineering and mechanics postdoc and students adapt lab spaces and resources to 3D print PPE parts.

Harrison Brookman, Class of 2022: We are assembling face shields that have been produced by the Virginia Tech engineering department so they've 3-D printed frames and then laser-cut clear plastic for the shield.

The design was adapted initially from Prusa which is a 3d printing company and then the Virginia Tech engineering group modified it based on what the Carilion infection control providers gave some feedback on.

Dr. Damon Kuehl reached out to us and we kind of put a call out to the students and have been coming together maybe once or twice a week for the past couple weeks. Dr. Kuehl told us that the first demos that we sent to the emergency department, a nurse started crying and made sure to write her name on it because she was so excited didn't want anybody to take it. 

It makes me feel really good I mean I've been stuck in my apartment here in Roanoke for the past couple months trying to isolate myself and it feels good to be able to give back to the community and give back to the folks that are out on the frontlines.