nov-2017c

24 25 services we offer are free. Direct Relief works on an ongoing basis with all the big pharmaceutical companies.We determine howmany people can’t afford care,what they need, and where they are, literally.Then we find the nearest site that would require an infusion of insulin, or a vaccine or even insect repellent, because the ZIKAvirus is now endemic in Puerto Rico. Healthcare companies and private sector busi- nesses have been very responsive, donating goods that are requested and, in the case of FedEx, providing transportation and distribution services to the Caribbean. In Puerto Rico, they’ve given us a subsidy that lets us ship material there, then deliv- er it to the site that ordered it, at no charge.That keeps our cash outlay very low. We’ve ended up using a lot of the same busi- ness tools that commercial businesses do.At the functional level–warehousing, planning, ship- ping, distribution–it’s all the same, but driven by fulfilling a need rather than a sale.That’s the role of charitable activity. BVC: Howwould you describe the present situa- tion in Puerto Rico, from a first-hand perspective? Right now, it’s still an emergency situation. Hurricanes and earthquakes disrupt the status quo.There’s a mad rush to deal with the crisis, then the new status quo sets in after a month or two and it’s hard to move off the dime.We’re trying to make sure we get it as good as it can be, before people get comfortable with the ‘new EXECUTIVE VIEW normal.’We’re getting the hospitals and clinics resupplied.We’re receiving financial contributions–some of which we use to run our operations, but most of which go to the facilities, so they can rent warehouses or vehicles, or buy fuel for generators.We thought the need would start to diminish as the situation normalized with power and water, but that is frustratingly slow for everybody involved. In the past week,we’ve seen the com- plexity of re-building the power grid in Puerto Rico, and we’ve been asked to help pull in some immediate or long-term solu- tions with respect to solar power genera- tion for their facilities.Which is way outside what we normally do, but we understand and can apply the same logic.Now,we’ve become a connector for Sunrun and other big solar installers who have the hardware and the services. The Puerto Rican business community is scrambling to get back to normal,but it’s out- side of their control to restart the power grid or the publicwater systems.It’s a crisismode for all the people at a personal level,and if they’re running a business that’s compounded. For the next several weeks we’ll be flying dailymaterial support to fill any order we receive, relaying information to companies to see if they can supply healthcare prod- ucts, and working out the logistics of it all. We’re doing everything we can in our lane of healthcare, but realizing that it’s just one of many lanes in the Caribbean that’s had its back broken. If you’d like to participate in Direct Relief’s aid efforts, please visit www.directrelief.org/ donate to make a financial contribution, or send an email to donations@directrelief.org for in-kind donation offers.