Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
NEWSAMRFAmerican Medical Resources Foundation, Inc. Volume 17, No. 1, April 2006
Assisting our less fortunate neighbors by donating medical equipment and supplies to hospitals and clinics in developing nations.
Continued on page 2
Continued on page 4
Nuno Nabiam and AMRF Vice President Victor Solo loading the shipping container.
A Marketplace in ,Bissau.
AMRF Assists Establishment for Clinic in Guinea-Bissau
Mr. Nuno Nabiam, a resident of Quincy, Ma., came to the United States in 1994 from Guinea-Bissau, where he was Economic Advisor to the Ministry of Trans-
portation. Members of his family continue to reside in Guinea-Bissau. He is a principal in a commercial cleaning company and has set up the International Trading Group. His dream is to establish a medical clinic in Bis-sau, the capitol city, to serve the large majority of residents who can only afford to pay modest or no fees for services. The government has agreed to provide an existing basic build-ing in Bissau. The clinic would focus on general medical services with special emphasis on preven-tive medicine. Life expectancy is 43 years for men and 46 years for
women. Since the country is experiencing a high infant mortal-ity rate, special attention will be given to obstetrics, gynecology and pediatric services. The small African country of Guinea-Bissau is located on
the west coast mid-continent. It has a population of 1.6 mil-lion people. Years of coups and military dictatorships plus a crippling civil war have transformed it to be one of the poorest
countries in the world with per capital annual income of about $700. Most of the employment is in agriculture with cashew nuts being the leading export of the country. At present, Guinea-Bissau has only two medical clinics
Colorful AMRF Open House
On Saturday, October 22, AMRF joyfully wel-comed friends and family to an open house at the newly located warehouse at 36 Station Avenue in
Brockton, MA. Guests were treated with welcoming music by the West African band, Obasi, which played lively African pop music. Tours of the facility and equipment displays together with slide shows and photos showcased AMRF’s operational functions and global activities. The guests enjoyed foods from Kenya, Guatemala, the Middle East, Italy and Eastern Europe and the folk guitar music of AMRF volunteer Darren Beaupre
Band picture
2
AMRFThe American Medical Resources Foundation donates used, but totally functional medical equipment to hospi-tals serving the needy worldwide. AMRF also develops and provides training programs for medical equipment repair technicians and hospital managers responsible for the maintenance, repair, and calibration of medical equipment.
AMRF NEWSis published periodically by the American Medical Resources Foundation, Inc. AMRF is a tax exempt, nonprofit charitable organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. AMRF is registered by the U.S. Agency for International Development. Please address all correspondence to: AMRF, P. O. Box 3609, Brockton, MA 02304-3609, 508–580–3301 • FAX: 508–580–3306. www.amrf.com • E-Mail: [email protected] This issue of the AMRF NEWS was written by Walter Newman. Designed and typeset by Bob Schecter for Bartleby Scriveners, Newsletters and Content for All Media.
Board of DirectorsChairman: K. H. Barney
President: Thomas MagliocchettiVice President for Operations: Victor SologaistoaDirectors: K. H. Barney; Steve Cunningham; Myra Edens; Richard Ernst; Robert M. Green; Michael Link; Thomas Magliocchetti; Walter Newman; and Victor Sologaistoa.
AMRF at Clinical Engineers Symposium
and two hospitals to serve the entire population. Many people travel to the City of Dakar in the neighboring nation of Senegal for health care. Others with financial means travel as far away as Lisbon, Portugal, the former colonial nation in Europe, for medical services. Guinea-Bissau is experiencing a high infantmortality rate; river blindness and other ophthalmologic diseases are common. Preventive health care is in its initial phase. AMRF is cooperating with Mr. Nabiam to help establish the Bissau Clinic. AMRF has donated a forty-foot container and
a twenty-foot container of medical equipment and supplies to furnish the clinic. Included in the shipment were ultrasounds, birthing and neonatal equipment such as incubators, monitors of various types, laboratory testing and analyses equipment, and ophthalmic equipment. Low-tech equipment such as exam tables and wheelchairs were also provided. AMRF is hopeful that these donations to the Bissau Clinic will help to significantly improve the medical care available to the citizens of Guinea-Bissau.
Guinea-Bissau Clinic Continued from page 1
AMRF Vice-President Victor Solo and AMRF Administrator Kathleen San Bento at the AMRF booth.
On October 10 - 12, 2005, in Sturbridge, MA, AMRF staff displayed the goals and needs of the Foundation at
the gathering of the New England Society of Clinical Engineers (NESCE) at the Northeastern Healthcare TechnologySymposium: “Advancing Health Care Technology.” AMRF was one of fifty informational booths displaying medical tech-nology.During the two days of the display, AMRF staff talked to many clini-cal engineers, biomedical engineers and healthcare professionals who were
interested in AMRF’s mission and, particularly, how they could actively participate in assisting AMRF with donated equipment.
Numerous visitors to the AMRF booth were originally from foreign countries, therefore, wer-eespecially supportive of AMRF.AMRF raffled a Fluke digital voltmeter which was won by Daniel Ristau of Glen Falls, New York. AMRF would like all clini-cal engineers and biomed-ica engineers in the New England region to be friends of and boosterfor AMRF and welcomes them to the AMRF family.
3
AMRF Shipments and ServicesSeptember 30, 2005 to March 30, 2006
Recipient of Containers of Equipment (quantity & length)Association for Rural Health In El Salvador 1– 40 ftBanda Aceh, Indonesia 4 – 40 ftAntonio Lenin Fonseca Hospital Nicaragua 1 – 40 ftGuineau-Bissau, West Africa Bissau Clinic 1 – 40 ft Bissau Clinic 1 – 20 ft
Adelard A. Roy & Valeda Lea Roy Foundation
$5,000 - $9,999Marian & Kay H. BarneyFriends of AsaprosarThe Roy A. Hunt Foundation
$1000.00 - $4999.00Robert and Carolyn MillettJeanne PrentissFollow Foundation/Naomi Rosenfeld TrusteePatricia B. McLeodBryan C. SoltysikJohn F. McQuillan
$201 - $999 Hancock United Church of ChristRobert SheridanThe Medical University of the AmericasKenneth DutterHancock United Church of ChristFirst Congregational Church of MadisonGuy & Barbara Steele, JR.
AMRF Monetary Donors April 1, 2005 — April 1, 2006
AMRF is deeply grateful to the following list of contributors who have graciously provided the financial resources which allowed AMRF to implement programs for improving medical care for the less fortunate of the Globe. Many thanks.
Annabell L. PageDr. & Mrs. Paul E GrayJohn & Marjorie NicklesStephen & Christine MillerAlan & Sandra Peters Frohman
$100-$200James and Lois GallagherScott & Alice NewellJulius & Merion RitterDiana G. EdwardsCarla C. DaleBetty A. WeisnerMr. & Mrs. Robert BicknellNancy & David KocherJ. Bruce and Louise RankinDr. Alexander R. StevensPatricia & Buford MaddoxSteven & Monica BushnellWalter & Louise EllisWesley United Methodist ChurchDouglas & Patricia RossEleanor S. CochranJames I. StockwellGuy B. FordJohn B. & Gilda Shanley
William & Saralyn BickfordGeorgetown Lions ClubEdwards Church LLCBetty L. TempleTipiani- Juan VelascoCarey T. Prouty
Up to $99Richard and Suzanne JohnJoseph RainvilleElton and Carolyn HelanderMichael F. SacarnySteven & Regina CunninghamRuth Adler Schnee Lois & Harl Aldrich, JR.Norman & Evelyn GaudraultJames R & Margaret WestonJay & Ellen SklarAvard & Marjorie MitchellKaren S. BabinMichael D. and Donna Smith LangoneMs. Anna MiddaughDr. Hubert I. FlomenhoftJoseph G. Rainville and Bernadette SmithRichard C. Austin, MD
Approved and in Process
Angkor Hospital for Children, Cambodia 1 – 40 ftAbdirahman Medical Center, Somaliland 1 – 40 ft Mwananchi Hospital, Tanzania 1 – 40 ft KPC Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, India 2 –40 ft
Training Programs
Center of Training and Maintenance, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaCentral American Center of Training and Maintenance, San Salvador, El Salvador (in development stage)
4
Colorful AMRF Open House Continued from page 1
AMRF Equipment Continues Helping in Brazil
The following is an excerpt from an email re-cently received from Dr. Silvia Brandalise, MD of Boldrini’s Children Cancer Center in the City of
Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil. At about 10-12 years ago AMRF donated a lot of electrical beds and other medical furnitures and supplies to our new inpatient building with 77 beds. It was just fantastic! Helped us a lot. Till today all the equipments are routinely working well, with regularly repairs. We hope theywill work for more 20 years! Nowadays we just finished a new 4,600 square meters building for Radiotherapy, Nuclear Medicine and Image Services. This construction was completely achieved by donations from Campina’s Society, in order of
US$4,000,000.00 In September 30th this year the building was inaugu-rated. Now we have the new challenge to buy the medical equipments and start to work as soon as possible. Our target patients are those of pediatric and adolescents with cancer. It is programmed to complete the full capacity ofthe machines for cancer patients till 35 - 40 years of age. We hope to cover an area of 6 million population, sl;urrounding Campinas. We are requesting the equip-ments to AMRF first because it will delay too much for us to collect almost 6 million dollars to buy them and secondly because wepersonally know the important work AMRF does for the emerging and underdeveloped countries.
Dr Alan Gruber, of Cohasset, MA, leader of Friends of ASAROSAR, a group that helps provide charitable oph-thalmic (medical care of the eyes) medical services to the rural poor of El Salvador, spoke about the group’s dedica-
tion to humanitarian efforts and activities as well as the state of medical care for the rural population of El Salva-dor. He also highlighted and expressed appreciation for AMRF’s cooperative efforts with ASAPROSAR in storing and shipping their supplies and technical assistance on equipment at their clinic in Santa Ana, El Salvador. The staff and Board of Directors of AMRF were de-lighted to greet old friends and welcome new ones while proudly showing off the newly located facilities.
Darren Beaupre, an AMRF volunteer and guitarist serenaded guests in the late afternoon.
AMRF Chairman Kay Barney thanks guest speakerDr.Allan Gruber.
“The staff and Board of Directors of AMRF were delighted to greet old friends and welcome new ones while proudly showing off the newly located facilities.”
5
Annual AMRF Volunteer Thank You Dinner .
AMRF in Ecuador
A Recent Email from Father Jorge Nigsch, Guadalupe, Ecuador, 12.5.05Dear AMRF Friends:
I am writing to you from Guadalupe in Ecuador. You guys helped us a lot with the equipment of the Mission clinic. Let me tell you that your big start that you gave us with
the two containers (a big one and a small one) really is doing so much of good. I am just coming back this minute from the clinic where Dr. Burger Zapf, who is here for his third visit, ust finished five surgeries with total anesthesia. We have lots of movement, many patients every week. Within the last three years we had more than 20,000 patients here and hundreds (at least over 500) of operations. The dental units that you gave us are in daily use and manyother equipments too.
So I just wanted to share my joy with you and let you know that you did great work for us and we are really very appreciat-ing in a lot. Without your help at the beginning we would not be where we are. I still remember when I knocked at your doors some years ago. You were ready to help me right away. So what else can I say but: THANK YOU AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU and your effortsand your families and your AMRF organization. Best regards, Jorge
On January 6, 2006, the AMRF Annual Volunteer Thank You dinner was held in Carleton-Willard Village, Bedford, MA. Forty AMRF friends, volunteers and spouses were
treated to an inspirational talk by the guest of honor, Mr.Tata Thaddeus Agwo. Mr. Agwo is a Senior Systems Integration Engineer at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA, and an author of four books dealing withAfrican culture. He is originally from Cameroon and recently experienced the death of his mother there as a result of inadequate medical facili-ties and care in that country. In response to his mother’s passing, Mr. Agwo vowed to help to improve medical care in Cameroon and has initiated an effort to ship medical equipment and supplies to the Acha Presbyterian General Hospital incooperation with AMRF. As the dinner speaker, in a slide-illustrated talk, Mr. Agwo de-scribed his life in Cameroon and the current state of medical care in that country with specific reference to the Acha Presbyterian General Hospital. AMRF is looking forward to working with Tata on a substantial Cameroon program.
Barbara and Jim Hitzrot, Jim Stockwell and Tata Thaddeus Agwo discuss health care in Cameroon. .
Mary Louise Schecter, Shirley Greene, Shirley and Ted Bergey.
Nancy Altschuler, Dick May, and Harriet Hathaway.
6
AMRFAmerican Medical Resources Foundation, Inc.P.O. Box 360936 Station AvenueBrockton, MA 02304-3609
Tel. : (508) 580-3301Fax: (508) 580-3306Internet: www.amrf.come-mail: [email protected]
Address Correction RequestedReturn Postage Guaranteed
Non–Profit Org.U.S. Postage
PAIDPermit No. 55817
Lexington, MA 02420
As a person who desires to relieve suffering and assist hospitals and clinics serving the poor in devel-oping nations, please enroll me as a contributor to the American Medical Resources Foundation. Enclosed is my contribution of:
$5,000 ( ) $2,500 ( ) $1,000 ( ) $500 ( )
$100 ( ) Other ( )
Name ______________________________________
Address ____________________________________
City _______________________________________
State __________ Zip ________________________
Please do not send cash
PLEASE DONATE TO AMRF
I would like to make a multi-year pledge of:
$_____________________
with the following dona-tion schedule:
Date Amount___________ ____________________ ____________________ _________
I would like to discuss a Planned Giving Program.
Please contact me at:
Tel.
Can You Help Us With Equipment or Supplies From Your Hospital or Company?Donations of used, functioning or repairable medical equipment or supplies are urgently needed for shipment to hospitals and clinics serving the poor in developing countries around the world. We will arrange pickup and/or shipping from anywhere in the U.S. Equipment donations from for-profit orga-nizations are exempt from Federal Income Tax. Donors should check with their tax advisors to
establish the value of the charitable deduction. We are in need of any equipment and supplies used in patient care. All the equipment is checked and repaired as needed in our own facility before being donated to hospitals overseas. All donations will be greatly appreciated by the re-cipient. Please call 508. 580.3301 or fax 508.580.3306 with a list of equipment to donate. Or you may contact us by e-mail: [email protected]
.
