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Local Medical Students Collecting Supplies For Frontline Healthcare Workers

Local medical students are gathering personal protective equipment for healthcare workers on the frontlines.

Mallika Patel is a Northwestern med student now back home in Metamora helping to spearhead the Peoria MedSupplyDrive. Both of her parents work at Peoria hospitals.

"I see them every day coming home," Patel said. "And it's a little concerning to hear about like they're starting to ration these supplies that are really important to protect everyone against the virus."

Patel is working with Ryan Wilbur and Mouneeb Choudry from the University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria to reach out to local dentists, vets, and auto shops and other businesses with unused personal protective equipment on hand to donate to the hospitals.

"Because I'm connected with my medical school, there's similar efforts in Chicago, across Illinois, and across the country, with different medical students. So I really wanted to start that at my home," she said.

Patel says they're working to establish a drop off site at UICOMP. You can go to medicalsupplydrive.com or e-mail the local organizers here for more information.

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Tim is the News Director at WCBU Peoria Public Radio.