The process
Partners for World Health (PWH) is a non-profit 501(c)3 based in Portland, Maine. Our NC State chapter supports its mission by collecting medical supplies and equipment from healthcare facilities, manufacturers, other organizations, and individuals. We sort, evaluate, repackage, and prepare these supplies and equipment for distribution to individuals, communities, and healthcare facilities in need.
- Collect- Work with local hospitals, medical facilities, etc. to aggregate gently-used and surplus medical supplies (thermometers, wheelchairs, crutches, gauze, syringes, gowns, etc.). Store in designated inventory.
- Package- Sort items by type and package appropriately.
- Distribute- Ship items from Raleigh to the PWH Main Chapter in Maine.
About PWH Main
While working as a Nurse Administrator in a trauma center in Saudi Arabia, Elizabeth McLellan, RN, MSN, MPH had the opportunity to visit a hospital in Quetta, Pakistan. While she was there she observed a surgeon who had just arrived from the operating room; he began to treat a man’s wound with a used bandage, wiped his hands onto his blood-stained, cloth scrubs then continued onto the next patient. It was clear that this hospital lacked even basic supplies such as linens, gauze, gloves, bandages, and tape. Nurses were using glass syringes and reusable metal needles. Sinks were not available to wash one’s hands. As Elizabeth stood there in the middle of what could only be considered chaos, she thought to herself, "Someday, when I go home, I'm going to do something about this."
In 2007, she did just that. Elizabeth began gathering discarded supplies from the Maine hospital where she was working. She positioned collection boxes in different departments, educating nurses and housekeeping staff to save medical supplies located in rooms of patients who were discharged. Once a patient is discharged from a room, all supplies left behind go to the trash. For two years, she continued to gather these supplies until she eventually reached capacity within her home. In 2009, Elizabeth rented her first storage space, and with a group of volunteers moved an inventory of more than 11,000 pounds of collected medical supplies and equipment (wheelchairs, crutches, wound care materials, gauze, syringes, tape, depends, gowns, alcohol wipes, etc.) out of her home.
supply chain parnters
