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Spartan Medical® spearheads campaign to collect medical supplies for Ukraine

Many of us have watched aghast as the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine has continued to escalate since its full-scale invasion by Russia on February 24th. As violence intensifies with little sign of abating, Vince Proffitt, Founder and President of Spartan Medical Inc., wanted to help however he could. “As a veteran and former commissioned military officer, I felt duty-bound,” said Proffitt.

As important as it is to give aid, it is equally imperative to know exactly who you’re giving to, and where your donations are going. “I never want to just throw money at something,” says Proffitt, “whether it’s our charitable work or anything else. The problem is that you never know who is getting a cut, and what is actually going to the people who need it.” In other words, Proffitt likes to vet potential recipients with the same due diligence he would anyone he does business with.

So, when a business associate reached out and suggested that Proffitt connect with a local organization which he’d been in touch with called United Help Ukraine (UHU) based in Gaithersburg, Maryland, he was eager to exchange emails. Later that evening, by sheer happenstance, Proffitt managed to spot the UHU representative with whom he’d been communicating on his television screen. “I never watch the local news, but it happened to be on and as I look up from my laptop, there is Vladislav – the guy I’ve been emailing with – talking about this organization.” After that somewhat serendipitous moment, the pieces continued to fall into place.

The mission of the Proffitt Brothers Foundation® – the charitable arm of Spartan Medical Inc., – is to raise money and awareness for nonprofits who are on the front lines making a positive impact on the communities they serve. That purpose is reflected in UHU, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and their work on the frontlines of the Ukrainian defense and refugee crisis. “We’re in direct contact with the individuals [on the frontline], and they’re telling us exactly what they need,” says Vladislav Beresovsky of UHU. “There’s lots of government support for Ukraine as a whole, but we forget about the little guy, as usual,” he adds. As he describes it, it’s the job of UHU to fill in the gaps left behind when rollouts of aid neglect those with actual boots on the ground. “Individuals on the frontline know what they need better than anyone, and we hear it straight from them,” says Beresovsky.

Through the coordinated efforts of Proffitt and Beresovsky, Spartan was able to contribute 80,000 hospital masks, 600 surgical gowns, 66 fracture implant systems, and 20 single-use, handheld arthroscopes with tablets. 150 high-end field quality tactical backpacks in immediate need were also donated.

The donations from Spartan will help surgeons and nearby medics, but they’re still in desperate need of supplies that will aid individual soldiers on the battlefield. IFAKs (individual first aid kits), or the components within them, are of top priority for UHU.

“We have a huge demand for them,” says Beresovsky, explaining that the entire Ukrainian army has run out of IFAKs. “Every soldier must have this kit,” he urges, “they need it for bracing, to stop bleeding — everything, it’s of huge importance.” Combat veterans and first responders don’t need to be reminded of how crucial their IFAK is.

When it comes to supplies, according to Beresovsky, they are equal to money. “It’s problematic to even find these supplies now,” he says, “and we’re accumulating what we can.”

“They can’t stick money in wounds,” added Proffitt.

Calling upon Proffitt’s sense of duty, Spartan Medical® is formally extending the offer to use its knowledge, skills, experience, and relationships to lead a campaign and bring more of the necessary supplies to UHU so that they can get it into the hands of the soldiers on the frontlines in Ukraine by coordinating with any company that wants to help.

“Because of our medical and clinical expertise, our ability to manage logistics — all types of things we do as a matter of course for our nationwide business — it makes it a lot easier on the people from UHU, so they can focus on getting that stuff where it’s needed,” says Proffitt, “Keep in mind that these are volunteers. The herculean effort it takes to get things from here to somewhere in eastern Europe, and then into an active warzone, is a full-time job.”

The Spartan team is already in discussions with multiple medical supply manufacturers that hope to take Mr. Proffitt up on his offer. The discussions so far have been focused on highly-efficient, cost-effective hospital blankets and German-engineered external fixators used in surgery or in disaster critical care. The Spartan team expects to announce large shipments of these essential medical products within the coming weeks.

Mr. Proffitt adds, “We hope when we announce this campaign and the large contributions already being made, it will create a snowball effect with many more companies coming on board.”

To provide supplies, call Spartan Medical® at 888-240-8091.