Episode 05: Covid-19 and the Fight for Medical Supplies with Dr. Mark Schultzel, Amir Hassan, and Nick Digirolamo

Episode 5

Covid-19 and the Fight for Medical Supplies with Dr. Mark Schultzel, Amir Hassan, and Nick Digirolamo

Pavan Lohia discusses the Covid-19 outbreak and the urgent need for medical supplies for frontline healthcare workers in the US with Dr. Mark Schultzel MD, Amir Hassan, and Nick Digirolamo. Given the urgency and scarcity of resources, these three have teamed up to create reusable 3-D printed masks that will be donated to frontline healthcare workers. With their combined expertise in healthcare, business, and MBA students at UCSD Rady School of Management, they have been able to launch a GoFund me campaign to further their efforts and help thousands of healthcare workers. Additionally, Pavan discusses what caused the issue of medical supply shortages and how we are working to fix this situation.

More information on their GoFund Me campaign to provide masks to Healthcare Heroes:

The GoFund me is serving as a place to collect donations to make the masks for us to deliver to those on the frontlines such as healthcare professionals and local safety agencies. The team has also opened up the availability of the masks to the public due to the high demand and many cities implementing regulations on the civilians wearing masks when out in public. The team is providing the masks for $10 each and have set it up as a “buy one, give one” as it takes about $5 to make one mask.

Donate: https://www.gofundme.com/f/masks-for-our-healthcare-heroes

Bios:

Dr. Mark Schultzel MD is an orthopedic surgeon specializing in shoulder and elbow surgery, and is the SuperSpecialist for shoulder surgery for the Sharp Healthcare system. He is a sports medicine physician for the US Olympic Committee and team physician for USA Kendo. He is also an MBA student at the Rady School of Management at UCSD, serving as President of the Rady Student Board.  Dr. Schultzel has extensive experience in international health through his work in medical missions to developing countries and as an instructor on shoulder arthroplasty in Japan.  He is driven to help support his colleagues fighting on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic.