BIOMEDS

IT’S BETTER TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE. FOUND ORIGINALLY IN THE BIBLE, PEOPLE WHO HAVE

adopted this philosophy know it is true, including several biomeds we inter-viewed this month about their charitable eff orts. Most will tell you that they feel great fulfi llment from giving. They’ll also tell you that giving does not always

refer to money or things – a donation of time and specialized skills can be equally helpful and rewarding.

Several charities across the U.S. recycle medical equipment and get that equipment to patients, hospitals and health clinics that might otherwise not be able to aff ord it. Teams of doctors and other health care specialists from the U.S. volunteer their time to perform medical procedures in developing countries, as well as for uninsured patients in the U.S.

Acquiring and maintaining working medical equipment is often cited as one of the most diffi cult challenges volunteers face.

The opportunity to be a part of these volunteer activities is always gratifying for the participants. Several charitable organizations specialize in health care missions, and each cite medical equipment support as a constant need. In areas where there is a shortage of medical equipment, there is almost always a shortage of people who have the proper training and tools to maintain that equipment.

Surprising ways to use your skills for the greater good

BY K. RICHARD DOUGLAS

GIVE BACK

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“I am a big proponent of volunteering, and I encourage anyone who enters this fi eld to use the talents they have to give back to society,” says Kelly VanDeWalk-er, CBET. “I have and still do volunteer for various organizations,” VanDeWalk-er says, including a Medical Missions company in Indianapolis. VanDeWalker fi nds ways to put his specialized training to use in the volunteer arena through “contacts I have made over the 30 years I have been in this profession.”

The need for health care volunteers in the wake of the 7.0 magnitude earth-quake that shook Haiti last January was overwhelming. Medical Dealer and TechNation covered the stories of several biomeds’ experiences of the aftermath. “I traveled to Milot, Haiti, for my fi fth trip the last week of October 2011,” says David Sieminski, State Treasurer for the California Medical Instrumentation Association and the board representative for the group’s Capitol Chapter. There, he volunteered as a biomed at the Hôpital Sacré Coeur in northern Haiti.

Sieminski trained two Hatian biomed tech trainees on ventilators, skills they would use long after he was gone. “I also volunteered my services to American River College and taught an entry level biomed

tech class on ventilation. I also volunteered my service again to American River College and taught an eight hour respiratory ventilation class for second year students and other biomed(s).” Volunteering veterans say off ering training is one of the most helpful things they can provide. Without properly trained biomeds to maintain it, the value of any donated medical equipment sharply declines.

Sieminski has found several per-sonal benefi ts to charitable work. “My volunteered time has been both the most rewarding and educational. I sug-gest doing charity work to expand your knowledge as well as to improve your social networking skills. As a volunteer to Haiti, I have been studying the lan-guage (Creole) and can now at least ask for what I need and understand what they need.

It’s easier than you think to get involved. “There are places and compa-nies that help support your charitable work if you make them aware,” Siemin-ski says. “What a great way to spend a vacation.”

MedShare, a nonprofi t organization that distributes medical supplies and equipment in developing countries, would agree. The organization recently

helped convert a former University of Georgia campus bus with the staff and students at the Chattahoochee Tech-nical College’s Biomedical Engineer-ing Technology program to help teach young biomeds about volunteering. The refurbished bus will be used as a mobile medical clinic to screen for diabetes and hypertension in Ghana. Instructor Dr. Mike O’Rear and his students helped create the mobile medical clinic to aid the people of Ghana. When MedShare became aware of the need for such screening, they contacted Dr. O’Rear about initiating the project. MedShare will stock the bus with unused medical supplies gathered from U.S. hospitals.

MEDSHARE AND THE BIOMED NICHE

There is a great need for biomeds in many of the nation’s charitable organi-zations, MedShare representatives say. The need encompasses a spectrum, from performing repairs and maintenance, to providing training, to evaluating donated medical equipment and even assisting with OEM and other industry contacts.

“Biomedical/clinical engineers and their departments can contribute to MedShare’s Hospital Recovery Program simply by being ever-mindful of our needs,”

BIOMEDSGIVE BACK

1. 2. 3.

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says Angie Bryan, Strategic Sourcing Manager at MedShare. The aggregator and distributor of surplus medical supplies and equipment has two locations: in Decatur, Ga., and San Leandro, Calif.

“Any time equipment is no longer needed by [your] program, it can be donated to MedShare, provided it is in relatively good condition. We also accept and need items that go along with biomedical equipment, such as tubes and other items needed for proper operation. If a department has a good relationship with a manufacturer, they can facilitate a connection for us. Many of our best partnerships have been formed in this way,” Bryan says.

Equipment that has reached the end of its useful life in this country can still be used overseas, if properly maintained. Two staff biomeds evaluate and repair all equipment donated to MedShare, but the organization also seeks biomed volun-teers, especially in California, the Mid-Atlantic and South Florida, Bryan says.

“Though entirely dependent on the proximity of biomedical/clinic engineers to each of MedShare’s two warehouses (Atlanta and San Leandro, Calif.), we would welcome skilled engineers to assist in the assessment and repair of equipment.”

Biomeds can also help by promoting awareness of equipment needs in develop-ing countries to the health care facilities, ISOs and OEMs they work for. “Med-Share has a great need for equipment. It is often the No. 1 item requested by our recipients,” Bryan says. “Consequently, it is also the most diffi cult to come by.”

MEDICAL MISSIONS FOUNDATION

Medical Missions Foundation grew out of the need to help impoverished chil-dren in the Philippines and went on to serve the medical needs of children in 12 countries. Among the organization’s objectives are to provide surgical and medical care for children and adults and to provide donated medical equipment and supplies to economically depressed areas. Additionally, the nonprofi t pro-vides medical training to local health care providers.

Shanna Goodman, Director of Devel-opment and Marketing for Medical Mis-sion Foundations, explains. “As our key mission is to provide surgeries for the disadvantaged children of developing countries, we always greatly appreciate the donation of time, services and equip-ment of biomedical and clinical engi-neers and their departments.”

“Biomedical engineers are instrumen-tal in assuring the equipment we take on missions is of sound quality and func-tion. We receive equipment donations from generous hospitals and private practices and they often need an inspec-tion and tune-up prior to the mission. We’re able to pay that generosity forward in many instances in which we leave the equipment in-country for the local hospi-tals to utilize,” Goodman says.

Medical Mission Foundations can also use the help of biomeds to accompany them to the distant locales they serve. “We have several longtime volunteers that have helped us immensely in setting up or repairing equipment on site,” Goodman says. “Equipment on site can be a chal-lenge as the amenities such as electricity and generators can be in short supply or have intermittent accessibility.”

Goodman also sees benefi ts to biomed professionals beyond the good feeling that comes from volunteering time. “Vol-unteering services for Medical Missions Foundation domestically or traveling internationally on a mission provides the opportunity for biomeds to hone their skills outside the normal day to day oper-ations of their work. Many of our volun-teers say that in working in developing

1 & 2: Dave Sieminski

has volunteered in

Haiti serveral times.

3-5: Medshare donates

equipment and supplies

to facilities all over

the world.

4. 5.

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countries allows them the opportunity to see things that they have only otherwise read in textbooks.”

“In addition to direct medical care provided by MMF doctors and nurses, educational components in the form of hand washing, nutrition, dental hygiene and burn prevention are also incorporated as frequently as possible with the module off ered based on the need of the country. Uganda and Romania have had a high need for burn prevention awareness and since MMF has provided education, instances of ‘new’ burns have decreased in Romania,” Goodman says.

“Further, medical missions teams have clinically trained and equipped hundreds of medical professionals and hospitals to perform procedures previously unavail-able in these countries. For instance, a Kansas City surgeon conducted the fi rst knee replacement surgery in Bohol, Philippines, on our mission in September 2011. Over the years, millions of dollars worth of donated supplies and in-kind medical services have been shared with the medical personnel and patients in the economically depressed countries that we serve.”

Since its inception, “MMF has com-pleted 62 missions in 12 countries, directly impacting more than 41,000 children and their families through sur-geries and clinics.”

BROTHER’S BROTHER FOUNDATION

Myron Hartman, MS, SASHE, CCE, CRES, CBET, Program Coordinator for the Penn State University Biomedical Engineering Technology program has been a volun-teer at Brother’s Brother Foundation since the late 1980s. While working as Director of Clinical Engineering at South Hills Health System, Hartman would take along a couple of biomeds and test equipment for the organization.

In more recent years, Hartman con-tinued his work with the organization, enlisting some help from students. “Since I have been teaching at PSU the past 10 years, I have traveled with BBF to several local cities tagging equipment that could be used and have taken my students to BBF to do volunteer work in checking medical equipment,” Hartman says.

“In 2010 I received a call from Luke Hingson, president of BBF, asking me about helping with a project in Libe-ria, Africa. My goals were to evaluate

the medical equipment needs, repair as much as I could, train as many individu-als as I could, and then format a plan for long-term medical equipment support.”

A January 2011 trip took Hartman to Liberia to work at three hospitals over a 10-day period. Hartman planned to make a longer trip during the summer, but health considerations at home altered those plans. He decided instead to bring two biomedical technicians from Phebe hospital in Liberia to the U.S.

“During that time I trained them on medical equipment skills and provid-ed them the resources for them to be instructors when they return home to train others. We also raised funding for them to rebuild their biomed shop. They have completed their shop renovation and are ready to begin the next phase of the project,” Hartman says.

Brother’s Brother Foundation has been around since 1958 and has served the needs of people in 140 countries. Those needs have been educational, humanitarian and medical. The organization’s website lists donations of “12,014 tons of medical supplies, pharmaceuticals and hospital equipment” that have been shipped to more than 1,000 hospitals and clinics.

BIOMEDSGIVE BACK

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WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Hartman’s substantial experience has provided him with valuable insights for biomeds considering similar volunteer work. He suggests fi nding a local orga-nization like Brother’s Brother Founda-tion where you can donate used medical equipment.

“Donated medical equipment must be in working condition, have all acces-sories and cables, operators and service manuals and any spare parts. It also must be suitable for use in the hospital receiving the equipment with supplies readily available,” he says.

Hartman suggests that if you locate a local organization that does work like Brother’s Brother, you can volunteer to visit their facility to “check, repair and identify equipment that should or should not be shipped.”

“Donate your used tools and test equipment. Most biomed shops in devel-oping countries have little to no equip-ment to service or check medical equip-ment – analyzers, simulators, DMM, electronic test equipment (or) hand tools,” Hartman suggests. He also rec-ommends cash donations and donations of electronic service manuals.

But what if you don’t have time to travel to volunteer? There are some ways you can get involved right now. Hart-man suggests that biomeds identify themselves as a resource “for someone to telephone or e-mail questions on ser-vice, calibration, parts and operation of a medical device.”

Hartman would like to bring together the combined experience of volun-teers who have been involved in medi-cal equipment support. “I am hoping to return someday to continue the medi-cal equipment support and training in Liberia. In talking with my peers in the profession who also do similar volunteer work for medical equipment support in developing countries, we are planning a session at the next spring MD Expo in Florida. There are many individuals and organizations providing medical equip-ment support, so why not join forces so each one of us is not having to create something new? We can share ideas, resources, contacts, and create a network of sharing that can benefi t the volunteer, which in turn will benefi t the recipients of the work.”

FOR INFORMATION ON HOW TO GET INVOLVED, VISIT THESE WEBSITES:

www.brothersbrother.org

www.mmfworld.org

www.medshare.org

www.fameworld.org

medwish.org/give/volunteer-info

www.operationsmile.org

Myron Hartman has

spent time volun-

teering in Liberia

and hosted Liberian

biomed students in

his home.