IMED - 40-Feet Of Hope

feet ofcreative storage and

recycling solutions save lives on an

international scale.

40 hope

7’8”

7’10”

$1 = $30$1 = $30

$450,000avERaGE

coSt to SHIp a contaInER

$

$15,000avERaGE vaLuE oF ItS donatEd contEntS

FoR EvERy $1 donatEd, $30

oF mEdIcaL EQuIpmEnt IS SEnt to doctoRS WHo

dESpERatELy nEEd It.

storage solutions

10 good stewardship HoPE NotES Spring/Summer 2012

Photos (left to right from top) 1. An incubator for Nebaj, Guatemala 2. Shutting the doors on the fi lled Nebaj container 3. Laying out supplies for surgical kits 4. Dr. Bosco at Gisuru Hospital in Burundi 5. Boxes of medical linens and textiles 6. Donated surgical instruments 7. A bird’s-eye view of the IMED warehouse in Saskatoon, SK

www.fhcanada.org/hope

It’S a StRanGE tHInG, mEaSuRInG HopE. But FH Canada’s International Medical Equip-ment Distribution (IMED) team does it up to 20 times a year, and has been doing so since 2002.

Rapid advances in medical technology mean that perfectly functional equipment is constantly being replaced in Canadian hospitals. Most of this equipment is out of reach for clinics and staff in developing communities.

That’s where the IMED program comes in. They work with Canadian health professionals to keep recently-replaced equipment from early retirement at a costly storage facility.

The equipment is donated to FH and kept at IMED’s Saskatoon warehouse, where it’s refur-bished and matched with requests for equipment from around the world.

Dr. Bosco of Gisuru Hospital in East Burundi recently contacted IMED with his medical wish list. Dr. Bosco is one of only two doctors and eight nurses at the 50-bed facility that serves an area of over 200,000 people. They see about 90 people a day, often two to a bed.

The bed shortage isn’t the only frustration. They often have to turn away patients they can’t diagnose or treat without a crucial piece of equip-ment, either basic or complex.

“Stuff we’d be shocked to see missing from the doctor’s office—” begins Ron Morey, the bio-medical technician who’s refurbishing Dr. Bosco’s pieces, “that’s the stuff they’re desperate for.”

As the 40-foot Gisuru Hospital container is packed with beds, operating tables, surgical equipment and incubators, IMED staff and vol-unteers can’t help but think of a baby in another area of Burundi, Buye region, where a previ-ous container request came from. An incubator they sent was the first for the hospital. Only days after it arrived, a baby was born premature and survived to go home with her grateful mother.

bEFoRE tHE IncubatoR, pREEmIES RaRELy SuRvIvEd.

feet of

storage solutions

IMED director Lindsay Brucks says prenatal equipment is one of his favourite things to ship. He explains his preference as he ensures an al-most-new ultrasound bound for Nebaj, Guate-mala is secure in its protective crate.

“In the developing world it’s a lot about fam-ily — a lot about children — so the ultrasounds make a huge impact on the lives of the women and the safety of the children when they’re born.”

“It REaLLy ImpactS tHE nuRSES and doctoRS. It bRInGS tHEm HopE.”lindsay Brucksimed director

The Guatemala container scheduled to ship this spring is somewhat of a special order. Usually a container equips one or two hospitals in a re-gion, but this time IMED was asked by Nebaj’s district health authority to supply specialized equipment and supplies for one large hospital, two smaller ones, and up to 30 clinics in the surrounding villages.

Containers are always packed tightly, but this one especially has every square inch filled with wheelchairs, heart monitors and examination beds; with linens, gauze, scrubs and operating utensils filling the gaps.

The Nebaj shipment is one of usually seven to nine a year that go to communities already walk-ing with FH Canada in a longer-term sustainable development partnership.

Lindsay has often visited these fields, and fre-quently sees the value of providing tools to peo-ple who have the skills to use them.

“It really impacts the nurses and the doctors,” he says. “It brings them hope as they serve the people and the passion that they have.”

By empowering health professionals in their own communities and providing resources that are otherwise inaccessible, the IMED team is de-livering hope and literally saving lives.

One 40-foot container at a time.

www.fhcanada.org/hope

Spring/Summer 2012 HoPE NotES good stewardship 9

hope

It’S a StRanGE tHInG, mEaSuRInG HopE. But FH Canada’s International Medical Equip-ment Distribution (IMED) team does it up to 20 times a year, and has been doing so since 2002.

Rapid advances in medical technology mean that perfectly functional equipment is constantly being replaced in Canadian hospitals. Most of this equipment is out of reach for clinics and staff in developing communities.

That’s where the IMED program comes in. They work with Canadian health professionals to keep recently-replaced equipment from early retirement at a costly storage facility.

The equipment is donated to FH and kept at IMED’s Saskatoon warehouse, where it’s refur-bished and matched with requests for equipment from around the world.

Dr. Bosco of Gisuru Hospital in East Burundi recently contacted IMED with his medical wish list. Dr. Bosco is one of only two doctors and eight nurses at the 50-bed facility that serves an area of over 200,000 people. They see about 90 people a day, often two to a bed.

The bed shortage isn’t the only frustration. They often have to turn away patients they can’t diagnose or treat without a crucial piece of equip-ment, either basic or complex.

“Stuff we’d be shocked to see missing from the doctor’s office—” begins Ron Morey, the bio-medical technician who’s refurbishing Dr. Bosco’s pieces, “that’s the stuff they’re desperate for.”

As the 40-foot Gisuru Hospital container is packed with beds, operating tables, surgical equipment and incubators, IMED staff and vol-unteers can’t help but think of a baby in another area of Burundi, Buye region, where a previ-ous container request came from. An incubator they sent was the first for the hospital. Only days after it arrived, a baby was born premature and survived to go home with her grateful mother.

bEFoRE tHE IncubatoR, pREEmIES RaRELy SuRvIvEd.

feet of

storage solutions

IMED director Lindsay Brucks says prenatal equipment is one of his favourite things to ship. He explains his preference as he ensures an al-most-new ultrasound bound for Nebaj, Guate-mala is secure in its protective crate.

“In the developing world it’s a lot about fam-ily — a lot about children — so the ultrasounds make a huge impact on the lives of the women and the safety of the children when they’re born.”

“It REaLLy ImpactS tHE nuRSES and doctoRS. It bRInGS tHEm HopE.”lindsay Brucksimed director

The Guatemala container scheduled to ship this spring is somewhat of a special order. Usually a container equips one or two hospitals in a re-gion, but this time IMED was asked by Nebaj’s district health authority to supply specialized equipment and supplies for one large hospital, two smaller ones, and up to 30 clinics in the surrounding villages.

Containers are always packed tightly, but this one especially has every square inch filled with wheelchairs, heart monitors and examination beds; with linens, gauze, scrubs and operating utensils filling the gaps.

The Nebaj shipment is one of usually seven to nine a year that go to communities already walk-ing with FH Canada in a longer-term sustainable development partnership.

Lindsay has often visited these fields, and fre-quently sees the value of providing tools to peo-ple who have the skills to use them.

“It really impacts the nurses and the doctors,” he says. “It brings them hope as they serve the people and the passion that they have.”

By empowering health professionals in their own communities and providing resources that are otherwise inaccessible, the IMED team is de-livering hope and literally saving lives.

One 40-foot container at a time.

www.fhcanada.org/hope

Spring/Summer 2012 HoPE NotES good stewardship 9

hopeIt’S a StRanGE tHInG, mEaSuRInG HopE. But FH Canada’s International Medical Equip-ment Distribution (IMED) team does it up to 20 times a year, and has been doing so since 2002.

Rapid advances in medical technology mean that perfectly functional equipment is constantly being replaced in Canadian hospitals. Most of this equipment is out of reach for clinics and staff in developing communities.

That’s where the IMED program comes in. They work with Canadian health professionals to keep recently-replaced equipment from early retirement at a costly storage facility.

The equipment is donated to FH and kept at IMED’s Saskatoon warehouse, where it’s refur-bished and matched with requests for equipment from around the world.

Dr. Bosco of Gisuru Hospital in East Burundi recently contacted IMED with his medical wish list. Dr. Bosco is one of only two doctors and eight nurses at the 50-bed facility that serves an area of over 200,000 people. They see about 90 people a day, often two to a bed.

The bed shortage isn’t the only frustration. They often have to turn away patients they can’t diagnose or treat without a crucial piece of equip-ment, either basic or complex.

“Stuff we’d be shocked to see missing from the doctor’s office—” begins Ron Morey, the bio-medical technician who’s refurbishing Dr. Bosco’s pieces, “that’s the stuff they’re desperate for.”

As the 40-foot Gisuru Hospital container is packed with beds, operating tables, surgical equipment and incubators, IMED staff and vol-unteers can’t help but think of a baby in another area of Burundi, Buye region, where a previ-ous container request came from. An incubator they sent was the first for the hospital. Only days after it arrived, a baby was born premature and survived to go home with her grateful mother.

bEFoRE tHE IncubatoR, pREEmIES RaRELy SuRvIvEd.

feet of

storage solutions

IMED director Lindsay Brucks says prenatal equipment is one of his favourite things to ship. He explains his preference as he ensures an al-most-new ultrasound bound for Nebaj, Guate-mala is secure in its protective crate.

“In the developing world it’s a lot about fam-ily — a lot about children — so the ultrasounds make a huge impact on the lives of the women and the safety of the children when they’re born.”

“It REaLLy ImpactS tHE nuRSES and doctoRS. It bRInGS tHEm HopE.”lindsay Brucksimed director

The Guatemala container scheduled to ship this spring is somewhat of a special order. Usually a container equips one or two hospitals in a re-gion, but this time IMED was asked by Nebaj’s district health authority to supply specialized equipment and supplies for one large hospital, two smaller ones, and up to 30 clinics in the surrounding villages.

Containers are always packed tightly, but this one especially has every square inch filled with wheelchairs, heart monitors and examination beds; with linens, gauze, scrubs and operating utensils filling the gaps.

The Nebaj shipment is one of usually seven to nine a year that go to communities already walk-ing with FH Canada in a longer-term sustainable development partnership.

Lindsay has often visited these fields, and fre-quently sees the value of providing tools to peo-ple who have the skills to use them.

“It really impacts the nurses and the doctors,” he says. “It brings them hope as they serve the people and the passion that they have.”

By empowering health professionals in their own communities and providing resources that are otherwise inaccessible, the IMED team is de-livering hope and literally saving lives.

One 40-foot container at a time.

www.fhcanada.org/hope

Spring/Summer 2012 HoPE NotES good stewardship 9

hope

It’S a StRanGE tHInG, mEaSuRInG HopE. But FH Canada’s International Medical Equip-ment Distribution (IMED) team does it up to 20 times a year, and has been doing so since 2002.

Rapid advances in medical technology mean that perfectly functional equipment is constantly being replaced in Canadian hospitals. Most of this equipment is out of reach for clinics and staff in developing communities.

That’s where the IMED program comes in. They work with Canadian health professionals to keep recently-replaced equipment from early retirement at a costly storage facility.

The equipment is donated to FH and kept at IMED’s Saskatoon warehouse, where it’s refur-bished and matched with requests for equipment from around the world.

Dr. Bosco of Gisuru Hospital in East Burundi recently contacted IMED with his medical wish list. Dr. Bosco is one of only two doctors and eight nurses at the 50-bed facility that serves an area of over 200,000 people. They see about 90 people a day, often two to a bed.

The bed shortage isn’t the only frustration. They often have to turn away patients they can’t diagnose or treat without a crucial piece of equip-ment, either basic or complex.

“Stuff we’d be shocked to see missing from the doctor’s office—” begins Ron Morey, the bio-medical technician who’s refurbishing Dr. Bosco’s pieces, “that’s the stuff they’re desperate for.”

As the 40-foot Gisuru Hospital container is packed with beds, operating tables, surgical equipment and incubators, IMED staff and vol-unteers can’t help but think of a baby in another area of Burundi, Buye region, where a previ-ous container request came from. An incubator they sent was the first for the hospital. Only days after it arrived, a baby was born premature and survived to go home with her grateful mother.

bEFoRE tHE IncubatoR, pREEmIES RaRELy SuRvIvEd.

feet of

storage solutions

IMED director Lindsay Brucks says prenatal equipment is one of his favourite things to ship. He explains his preference as he ensures an al-most-new ultrasound bound for Nebaj, Guate-mala is secure in its protective crate.

“In the developing world it’s a lot about fam-ily — a lot about children — so the ultrasounds make a huge impact on the lives of the women and the safety of the children when they’re born.”

“It REaLLy ImpactS tHE nuRSES and doctoRS. It bRInGS tHEm HopE.”lindsay Brucksimed director

The Guatemala container scheduled to ship this spring is somewhat of a special order. Usually a container equips one or two hospitals in a re-gion, but this time IMED was asked by Nebaj’s district health authority to supply specialized equipment and supplies for one large hospital, two smaller ones, and up to 30 clinics in the surrounding villages.

Containers are always packed tightly, but this one especially has every square inch filled with wheelchairs, heart monitors and examination beds; with linens, gauze, scrubs and operating utensils filling the gaps.

The Nebaj shipment is one of usually seven to nine a year that go to communities already walk-ing with FH Canada in a longer-term sustainable development partnership.

Lindsay has often visited these fields, and fre-quently sees the value of providing tools to peo-ple who have the skills to use them.

“It really impacts the nurses and the doctors,” he says. “It brings them hope as they serve the people and the passion that they have.”

By empowering health professionals in their own communities and providing resources that are otherwise inaccessible, the IMED team is de-livering hope and literally saving lives.

One 40-foot container at a time.

www.fhcanada.org/hope

Spring/Summer 2012 HoPE NotES good stewardship 9

hope IMEDInternational Medical Equipment Distribution