Kristina
Rigterink
May 2020
Kristina
Rigterink
,
Senior 1
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing
New Orleans
,
LA
United States

 

 

 

Kristina Rigterink, a Senior 1 student and her family started GET ME PPE NOLA which had a goal to mobilize unused PPE in New Orleans and deliver to hospitals in need. They have donated roughly 40,000 gloves to numerous hospitals and first responders, about 100 N95 masks, 300 surgical masks, various disinfectants, sani wipes, and sterile dressings. She was also contacted by a nursing student in Atlanta and helped her establish the GET ME PPE ATLANTA organization and she has also collaborated with the GET ME PPE LOS ANGELES cohort to help her best friend who is a doctor at a community hospital in Los Angeles get vital PPE for health care providers. She has also worked with local engineers who have 3D printing machines to communicate with the logistic coordinators at hospitals to determine if their face shields and respirators meet standards for the hospitals. Then she was contacted by a UMC MICU nurse regarding surgical scrub caps to protect hair, so she has donated about 20 sewn caps from a few donors, some cloth masks to protect the surgical masks required in hospitals now. She also contacted a friend who is a cook who created an incredible 4-course meal for the MICU staff. She did an amazing job bringing people together to meet a health care need and made a significant difference in the community.