'We're all in this together': Project C.U.R.E. collects medical supplies to fight coronavirus pandemic
Adam Sparks
The first one rolled into the Tennessee Titans' Nissan Stadium parking lot at 12:04 p.m. Sunday.
The driver slowed down, the passenger tossed a bag of sterile gloves into a bin, and they kept moving. Those few seconds drew a few tears from Cheryl Noe, executive director of Project C.U.R.E. Nashville.
"I'm such a crier anyway, but that really makes me cry," Noe said. "It's truly a beautiful picture of the best of our community."
Noe was managing volunteers at the Project C.U.R.E. drive to collect personal protection equipment for medical workers to use in treating coronavirus patients. The event was promoted by the Titans.
Others followed that first donation. Drivers practiced social distancing and never made person-to-person contact with the volunteers. But they unloaded any medical item they could spare to help local hospitals and first responders.
A dentist dropped off several boxes of medical gowns. Another donor contributed boxes of N95 masks. Noe said she expected to get medical supplies from uncommon sources by the end of the day, just like a recent drive did in Denver, near Project C.U.R.E. headquarters. Construction firms donated non-sterile gloves and masks. Realtors brought shoe covers.
"There are things sitting around or things that your business may have over-ordered that can really help people," Noe said. "You hear stories of doctors and nurses recycling masks. We can't have that."
'We're all in this together'
Noe is familiar with what she calls "front-line people" in treating coronavirus. Her husband, Derek, is a deputy fire chief and first responder in Ashland City. Two weeks ago, Cheryl learned Derek's firefighters and his friends in the medical field already had run out of masks.
"Well, we had masks (at Project C.U.R.E.). So the next day, I was able to deliver masks to him," Noe said. "That's somebody I love, and each of these (donors and volunteers) know people that they are trying to help among those same heroes."
Cynthia Paschal, Vanderbilt senior associate dean and a biomedical engineering professor, volunteered at the drive in continuing a long relationship with Project C.U.R.E. Her students repair instruments like centrifuges and microscopes for the organization to redistribute to area hospitals.
"People need to understand that this personal protective equipment is incredibly valuable," said Paschal, who wore an N95 mask with a smiley face drawn across it. "Most are not re-usable or sterilizable. A health care provider needs to protect themselves, but they also must minimize transmission from one patient to another."
By 1 p.m., volunteers started stacking donated boxes on a second pallet. Noe seemed to tear up as each car pulled into the Nissan Stadium parking lot. Buist Richardson, a volunteer, pumped his fist when a driver dropped a box of bleach into a bin.
"Oh my gosh, this is great," said Richardson, who wore an old Jevon Kearse Titans jersey. "We are getting a little at a time, and this all adds up.
"What feels great is that we're doing something and trying to make a bad situation better. We're all in this together."
How to still donate to Project C.U.R.E.
Project C.U.R.E. is the world's largest distributor of donated medical relief, delivering life-saving medical equipment and supplies to hospitals and clinics in over 130 countries. Noe said Nashville is among seven cities with a Project C.U.R.E. distribution center of medical supplies, along with Denver, Phoenix, Houston, Chicago, Philadelphia and Kansas City.
Anyone missing Sunday's drive can still donate unopened and unused medical supplies at the Project C.U.R.E. warehouse at 2300 Clifton Ave. in Nashville.
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Donated items accepted include sterile and non-sterile gloves, hand sanitizer, bleach bottles and sprays, isopropyl alcohol, eye protection and goggles, clear face shields, tie-on or ear loop masks (cloth masks will not be collected), respirator masks and/or filters (N95, N99, P100), PAPR respirators (3M or MaxAir), hoods, filters, batteries, chargers and tubes, disposable gowns, shoe covers and biohazard bags.
For more information, go on to ProjectCURE.org.
Reach Adam Sparks at asparks@tennessean.com and on Twitter @AdamSparks.