St. Elizabeth Healthcare is now partnering with SOS to lower disposal costs and reduce their environmental impact. SOS, a Louisville-based global health organization, partners with hospitals and other medical institutions in the region to recover surplus medical supplies and equipment that would otherwise go into landfills.
Once processed and tested, the supplies are then redistributed to medically impoverished regions of the world. SOS also works to create relationships with organizations in the communities the supplies are collected from, so that items that are expired or unable to be used for medical needs can be donated back to support local education, social services and animal welfare.
Ryan Fliehman, System Financial Analyst, Terry Teipel, Director of Clinical Engineering, Wade Cunningham, SOS, and Joseph Bozzelli, Vice President, Mission Services and Pastoral Care.
All five of St. Elizabeth’s Healthcare facilities are involved in the partnership, and the first donation was picked up last week.
The donation included an anesthesia machine, which meets an urgent need for SOS’s health partner in Nigeria. The machine will be donated to Mashiah Hospital in Jos, Nigeria, where it will assist in the surgery for a number of the 600 patients served each month by the facility.
Other area hospitals including TriHealth and Mercy also partner with SOS.
By partnering with more hospitals, SOS is increasing its positive environmental impact by diverting more medical supplies away from landfills, and also getting more critically needed medical supplies to those in need. The organization is also piloting a Global Maternal and Child Health program, created to deepen the impact on two of the most vulnerable populations served. The goals are to reduce maternal mortality, provide prenatal care for pregnant women and provide postnatal care for mothers and newborns.
SOS (formerly Supplies Over Seas) is a 501(c)3 global health organization based in Louisville that partners with hospitals and other medical institutions to recover surplus medical supplies and equipment that would otherwise go into landfills. The surplus is then redistributed to medically impoverished communities worldwide.
