During this war with COVID-19, one of the crucial battle lines has been the critical shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) for many healthcare providers. Thankfully, the response from the community has been overwhelming. Dozens of people have stepped forward to make masks, offer their own supplies and utilize their connections in manufacturing and shipping. Some went even further. Enter Nancy Carlson and Jocelyn Childs, two Denver women who decided to band together to get PPE for Colorado clinics and outpatient settings that don’t have the support of major hospital systems.
Nancy Carlson, who was a practicing pediatrician for 35 years and retired in March, was acutely aware of the need for PPE and had many established connections with hospitals, clinics and shelters in Colorado.
Here’s one of our healthcare providers in a GORE-TEX fishing gown!
Nancy and her college roommate Jocelyn Childs made a plan to raise money to help healthcare organizations purchase PPE. The two not only raised the money to purchase the items, they also got very creative and helped find alternatives when traditional supplies became hard to find. Through mutual friends, they learned of fellow Colorado College Alumni KC Walsh from Simms Fishing, a company that pivoted their production during the pandemic to create PPE for healthcare providers. Jocelyn reached out to KC and the connection was made!
Nancy and Jocelyn started receiving more requests from the medical community. They created a GoFundMe page that raised $20,000 that allowed them to purchase and distribute hundreds of masks made by a Denver sewing company and GORE-TEX washable/wipeable reusable gowns made by Simms Fishing Company.
About three months into the pandemic, Nancy connected with Dr. Ed Farrell, a former Clinica provider who now works at Colorado Coalition for the Homeless in Denver, who was keenly aware of the need Clinica had for additional PPE. When Nancy learned of Clinica’s need through Ed, she and Jocelyn jumped into action and spread the word across social media. They raised $1,650 in less than 36 hours, allowing us to buy 27 of the GORE-TEX gowns for our healthcare providers.
A HUGE thank you to Nancy and Jocelyn for their efforts!
Pictured left to right: Jocelyn Childs and Nancy Carlson
By Nadia Ali, Development Project Coordinator