Nurse in Bolivia, unpacking medical supplies sent by CFHI's Recover Program
"We are so wasteful in the U.S. In other countries, every bandage and pair of gloves is guarded closely. Now I am aware of every medical supply I use."
- CFHI Voiunteer
Residents of Guatemala, recipients of a container full of life-saving medical supplies sent by CFHI
"It was like Christmas when we opened the container! We were not expecting the quality and quantity of equipment and materials that were sent!"
-Dra. Matilda Diaz, Chone Preceptor, CFHI's Urban/Rural Comparative Health Program in Quito, Ecuador
KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER ABOUT MEDICAL SUPPLY DONATIONS
WE CANNOT ACCEPT THE FOLLOWING ITEMS:
Expired Supplies
Unused Prescription Medicines
Large Equipment (Canes,
Walkers, Crutches, Beds)
Sanitary Equipment
(Commodes, Shower Stools)
Sanitary Supplies (Incontinence
and Sanitary Pads)
Liquid Nutrition Drinks and
Formula Cans
Please note that we are unable to pick up donations due to limited schedule of Recover staff. Please contact harini@cfhi.org if you are interested in dropping off medical supplies at the CFHI office in San Francisco.
Volunteers packing medical supplies in CFHI's Office for CFHI program sites worldwide
CFHI Executive Director Steven Schmidbauer packing supplies for Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts in Louisiana
Recover Program Coordinator, Harini Krishnan, outside the CFHI-Supported India Than Gaon Clinic with Dr. Paul, who runs the Clinic and Hema Pandey, CFHI India Coordinator
Contact Harini Krishnan, Recover Program Coordinator, at 415-957-9000 X313 or at harini@cfhi.org to learn more about how to support Recover.
*CFHI thanks Recover Volunteer Anna Rose Steiner for her assistance with the Recover Webpage design.
* You will need to download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader on thier website to read this document. Visit this link to learn how to download the reader: click here.
RECOVER PROGRAM:MEDICAL SUPPLIES RECOVERED, RATHER THAN DUMPED
The Recover program, established in 1995, collects unused medical supplies and durable medical equipment from hospitals, medical supply companies, NGOs, private corporations and individuals in the US, and sends them to CFHI’s partner clinics and hospitals in underserved communities worldwide. To date, more than $5.8 million worth of salvaged medical supplies have been redistributed to CFHI partners worldwide.
WHY RECOVER?
The US Healthcare system discards more than $6 billion worth of medical supplies and equipment every year, spending nearly $700 million annually in disposal costs alone. Waste of hospitals is 15% higher than 8 years ago due to increased use of disposable products. Whereas,clinics and hospitals in underserved communities lack the resources to purchase even such basic necessities as gloves, sutures and other disposable products.
By supporting Recover, clinics, hospitals, pharmaceutical and medical supply companies in the U.S. can:
Provide life-saving support to underserved communities through CFHI’s reliable network to distribute high quality, excess medical supplies;
Reduce waste and environmental pollution;
Reduce costs incurred for disposal of unused medical supplies;
Obtain positive recognition from larger medical community for participation in a medical supply recovery program
RECOVER SUCCESSES
To date, more than $5.8 million worth of salvaged medical supplies have been redistributed to CFHI partners worldwide. $1.48 million worth of medical supplies were secured, shipped and distributed to our partners overseas in 2006 alone.
Furthermore, medical relief supplies have been sent in the last couple of years to support many humanitarian relief efforts including the Hurricane Katrina Relief Effort through Louisiana State University; The South Asian Tsunami Relief Effort, through a joint effort between International Medical Corps, CFHI and many other generous supporters; The Pakistan/Kashmir Earthquake Relief Effort, through the Hidaya Foundation and the US Army Medical Mission in Iraq.
STUDENT COLLECTION PROGRAMS
The Recover program is currently supported by student collection programs at various universities. Some of these universities include: Princeton University, Northwestern University, Cornell University, Stanford University, UCSF School of Medicine, UCLA, UCI Medical School, UC Santa Cruz, Chico State University, Chicago Community College, Wesleylan University, Medical College of Georgia, City College of SF, Centre College of Kentucky, University of Washington, and Marquette University, Milwaukee.
PROFILE OF MEDICAL SUPPLY COLLECTION PROGRAM AT PRINCETON
Click here to read a profile of one of CFHI’s outstanding alumni, Eric Leroux, who started a medical supply collection program at Princeton University, and was successful in collecting and sending more than $15,000 worth of unused surgical and medical supplies to the Recover program.
RECOVER DONORS
The Recover program is also supported by ongoing donations from physicians & nurses at numerous hospitals and clinics nationwide, including UCSF Children's Hospital, Stanford University Medical Center, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Kaiser Permanente Foundation Hospital in SF, Clinical Trials Department of Kaiser Permanente SF French Campus, Pediatric Hospital of Northwest Ohio and Massachusetts General Hospital. Some of the corporate donors of the Recover program have included Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc, Tri-State Hospital Supply Corporation, Cardinal Health, Becton Dickinson and DermaSciences Inc. NGOs such as Volunteers for Inter-Development Assistance (VIDA) and Rotaplast Internationalalso support Recover with generous ongoing donations.
CFHI PARTNERS WISHLISTS
Click here to see a list of specific, urgently needed medical supplies and equipment that have been requested by CFHI partners overseas. Please contact Harini Krishnan, Recover Program Coordinator, at harini@cfhi.org if you can donate any of the following items to CFHI.
HOW CAN YOU HELP RECOVER?
DONATE SUPPLIES: We are currently looking for donations of unused medical supplies anddurable small medical equipment. Click here to obtain a list of accepted medical supply donations that are most needed at our partner sites.
HELP US WITH SHIPPING COSTS: CFHI is actively seeking donations to offset our shipping costs for Recover. Contacts with shipping companies are always appreciated! Click hereto donate shipping costs.
START A RECOVER COLLECTION PROGRAM: If you are interested in setting up a medical supply recovery effort in your own community and supporting Recover, CFHI can help. We can send you a Recover Tool Kit, a step by step guide to start a Recover program in your own community. Otherwise, you can click here to download the Recover Tool Kit pdf file*.
All Donations are tax-deductible. Tax ID Number: EIN # 94-3145385.
