Chicago startup Rheaply has teamed up with Northwestern University to get Illinois healthcare professionals much-needed personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical supplies to address supply shortages amid the coronavirus crisis.
The initiative, called the Emergency Resource Exchange, is designed to connect organizations with N95 masks, gowns, testing kits and ventilators. It is built off of Rheaply’s flagship product that allows users to to sell, rent and donate items they no longer need, such as lab, medical and office equipment.
Rheaply’s partnership with Northwestern’s Department of Computer Science in the McCormick School of Engineering allows healthcare providers and other essential workers to quickly request the items they need from suppliers across Illinois, which can donate surplus equipment and newly manufactured goods.
Through the initiative, Northwestern is reaching out to those potentially in need of supplies, such as hospitals, and potential donors, such as businesses and alumni. The college is also working on a COVID-19 resource needs map to aggregate data that leverages Rheaply’s technology, to better understand where PPE shortages are felt most.
Besides healthcare facilities, Rheaply said it also aims to help source supplies for homeless shelters, prisons, nursing homes and childcare facilities. Rheaply said more than 20 organizations are already using the platform. Registration is free.
“Our goal at Rheaply has always been to help make organizations access and use supplies more efficiently,” said Rheaply co-founder and CEO Garry Cooper in a statement. “Now, with COVID-19 and the threat it poses, we saw a pressing need to create a solution that removes the barriers of supply chain and procurement processes. We are working hard to get more manufacturers on this platform so we can make even more supplies available to the people who need them most.”
Just last month, Rheaply raised $2.5 million in a seed round led by Chicago-based Hyde Park Angels, with participation from Concentric Equity Partners, M25, Techstars Ventures and individual angel investor Walter A. Winshall.
