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Direct Relief, including the organization's medical advisor, Dr. PJ Vázquez, visited home-bound patients in the Puerto Rico recently. The organization also held a health fair attended by more than 100 people. (Direct Relief photo)
Over the past week, Direct Relief has delivered 529 shipments of requested medical aid across the U.S. and 19 countries worldwide. The shipments contained 9.8 million defined daily doses of medication.
Medications and supplies shipped this week included surgical supplies, pharmaceutical-grade refrigeration units for temperature-sensitive medications, antibiotics, prenatal vitamins, rare disease therapies, insulin, and more.
Health Fair in Puerto Rico Connects Women to Health Services
A health worker conducts a blood glucose test at a health fair that hosted more than 100 people in Puerto Rico last weekend. (Direct Relief photo)
More than 100 people attended a health fair over the weekend in Puerto Rico, an event that not only provided essential health screenings but provided mentorship and training for medical residents.
As part of Direct Relief’s continuous needs assessments across communities on the island, staff identified several gaps in healthcare, including limited access to women’s health screenings, specialty medical services, and more. In conversation with NeoMed, a federally qualified health center serving the eastern region of the island, they identified over 1,000 women who had lapsed cervical cancer screening.
Direct Relief had been in communication with physicians from RWJ Barnabas Health System in New Jersey, who had expressed interest in coming to Puerto Rico to support community outreach efforts. To address this gap on routine checkups, RWJ made their OB-GYN physicians available to support a community health fair focused women’s health.
The team flew to Puerto Rico to participate in the community health fair held on February 22. Included in the team were Dr. Ernani Sadural, OBGYN, Dr. Daniel Sansobrino, OBGYN, Dr. Mike Drews, a reproductive endocrinologist, Belkis Ramírez, RN, and Margie Heller, Vice President of Community Health and Strategic Global Partnerships.
During the health fair, they met with second- and third-year residents from the University of Puerto Rico to share training on women’s health screenings, discuss best practices, and provide guidance and mentorship.
The health fair also included mammograms for breast cancer screening, vaccinations, primary health care, blood pressure and glucose measurements, and health education. Additionally, Direct Relief’s Medical Advisor, Dr. PJ Vázquez, visited home-bound patients.
Over 125 people attended the health fair, 57 women received cervical cancer screening, and 48 mammograms were scheduled for the upcoming weeks, and 13 home visits were conducted between Saturday and Monday.
Medical Aid Shipped in Response to Winter Storms
St. Mary’s Health Wagon, as pictured in Clintwood, Virginia, this week, has been providing mobile medical care to communities impacted by flooding and extreme weather recently. Direct Relief shipped medical aid to the Health Wagon this week to support health services. (Courtesy photo)
Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and surrounding areas of southern Appalachia are facing widespread devastation after torrential rain and an arctic blast swept through the region, leaving at least 22 people dead and thousands displaced. Beginning on February 14th, record-breaking rainfall triggered severe flooding, submerging entire communities and forcing emergency responders to conduct over 1,000 water rescues.
The situation worsened when an arctic blast followed the storms, trapping residents in freezing conditions without power. Many highways remain closed due to flooding, mudslides, and rockslides, making it difficult for people to access essential supplies, emergency services, and medical care.
In response, Direct Relief has provided emergency medical support to health centers, clinics, and other partner organizations in the affected areas. This week, tetanus vaccines, personal care products, and nutritional supplements were shipped to Big Sandy Health Care in Kentucky and St. Mary’s Health Wagon in Virginia to help meet urgent healthcare needs.
Resilient Power Panel Convenes at Direct Relief
On February 27, 2025, Direct Relief hosted a resilient power panel discussion on the role of power, energy, and light in healthcare, featuring leaders from Direct Relief, Doctors Without Walls, Planned Parenthood California Central Coast, and Unite to Light, with Santa Barbara County Supervisor Laura Capps moderating the discussion. (Kim Ofilas/Direct Relief)
Resilient power and its critical impacts on healthcare were the topics of an expert panel that convened at Direct Relief headquarters this week.
The discussion explored the essential role of power, energy, and light in fortifying healthcare resilience and featured leadership from four Santa Barbara-based nonprofits – Direct Relief, Doctors Without Walls – Santa Barbara Street Medicine, Planned Parenthood California Central Coast, and Unite to Light – all of which utilize reliable energy to power their respective missions. The panel, titled “Resilient Power for Healthcare: Illuminating the Energy-Health Connection,” was moderated by Santa Barbara County Second District Supervisor Laura Capps.
Panelists included Sara Rossi, Direct Relief’s Managing Director of the Health Resiliency Fund, Maggie Sanchez, Executive Director, Doctors Without Walls – Santa Barbara Street Medicine, Dr. Jenna Tosh, President & CEO, Planned Parenthood California Central Coast, and Megan Birney Rudert, President & CEO, Unite to Light.
Direct Relief’s Power for Health Initiative has 22 completed resilient power projects at health centers and clinics across the U.S., and has more in various stages of design and construction.
“This really is complimentary to the other work that Direct Relief does 365 days a year with our community health center partners and free and charitable clinics to protect health, to protect refrigerated medicines, to enable their doors to stay open, and not have to lose any of that during more frequent power outages,” Rossi said.
Globally, Direct Relief shipped over 8.1 million defined daily doses of medication totaling 67,103 lbs., to countries including the following:
India
Malawi
Egypt
Ethiopia
Sudan
Ecuador
Chad
Guatemala
YEAR TO DATE
Since January 1, 2025, Direct Relief has delivered 5,179 shipments to 1,402 partner organizations in 54 U.S. states and territories and 61 countries. These shipments included 57.6 million defined daily doses of medication, valued at $306.2 million wholesale, totaling 800,996 lbs.
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