in #CASE you missed it… 16 Yr old pilot transports medical supplies to small hospitals
TJ Kim, a sophomore at Landon School in Bethesda, Md., flew his first delivery by plane on March 27 to a 25-bed hospital in Luray, Va.
“They kind of conveyed to me that they were really forgotten about," he said. "Everyone was wanting to send donations to big city hospitals. Every hospital is hurting for supplies, but it’s the rural hospitals that really feel forgotten.”
His most recent delivery carried 3,000 gloves; 1,000 head covers, 500 shoe covers, 50 non-surgical masks, 20 pairs of protective eyewear and 10 bottles of hand sanitizer to help a hospital in Woodstock.
Kim's goal is to make deliveries to seven rural hospitals in Virginia that are defined as critical access hospitals. The effort began when he talked with his family in McLean, Va., about ways to serve the community.
Kim's family calls the endeavor Operation SOS -- Supplies Over Skies. The hardest part is gathering the supplies, Kim said.
The teen began flying after he was gifted a flying lesson by his father for his 15th birthday.