Local medical supplies are being sent to Florida to aid those impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
"This entire warehouse is filled with donated supplies that we make available free of charge to doctors and nurses and first responders on the ground," said Tony Morain, the vice president of communications at Direct Relief, a nonprofit medical assistance organization.
Direct Relief delivers medical supplies all over the world, but recently, much of its efforts have been in Florida, Tennessee, and North Carolina.
They have been sending supply requests following Hurricane Helene and are preparing deliveries for those impacted by Hurricane Milton.
"Right now we are getting a lot of requests," said Morain.
"We've been seeing a lot of EpiPen requests as well as for various vaccines, mainly the vaccines for tetanus, as well as flu vaccines, and hepatitis, as well as wound care," said Pacience Edwards, Direct Relief pharmacy specialist.
All of the medical supplies are donated to Direct Relief to distribute.
"The supplies are primarily donated by medical manufacturers directly to us," said Morain. "So it's free of charge, and we in turn provide those items free of charge to people who need them in communities that are often vulnerable, underserved. What we find during emergencies is you know, when it comes to a Category 5 like Milton, everyone is vulnerable, but some are more so than others."
Morain said Direct Relief works to get supplies where they are needed, as quickly as possible.
"It can be the next day," said Morain, "We've pre-positioned supplies like a lot of chronic disease medications in the area. So, they're going to be available on day one. It's fast. It's overnighted typically. We understand that this is a really urgent situation and we're doing everything we can."
