Volunteers Assemble Direct Relief Medical Backpacks

A few dozen volunteers from Bishop Diego Garcia High School, Santa Barbara City College, and CVS Health stores helped Direct Relief put together 400 medical backpacks that will go to about 160 health centers across the U.S. The packs, each one valued at around $500, are similar to the ones used by the Medical Reserve Corps and Doctors Without Walls. They contain supplies for a variety of needs, including infection control, diagnostics, trauma care, and personal protection tools, Direct Relief staff said. Some went to mobile medical units in New York and New Jersey, and others were distributed in tornado-prone Oklahoma.