A group run by medical students collects unused medical supplies from hospitals and physicians and redistributes them to local and international charities.
A student-run group in the Medical School recently donated an array of medical supplies to help restore a hospital in Armenia.
Called REMEDY, the group provided unused surgical items, ranging from sutures and gauze to cardiac catheters and X-ray equipment. REMEDY worked with CrossLink International, a volunteer organization that helps ship donated medical supplies overseas, to send more than 100 boxes of equipment, along with hospital beds, exam tables, wheelchairs, crutches, exam stools and other furniture.
On April 21st, CrossLink International helped pack and ship the items, in cooperation with the International Relief and Development Organization, to a hospital in Alaverdi, Armenia. The hospital had not been adequately resupplied in almost 10 years due to economic and political upheaval in the region.
REMEDY stands loosely for Recovered Medical Equipment for the Developing World. The group collects unused medical supplies from hospitals and physicians, and redistributes them to local and international charities. One of its primary challenges is to ensure that supplies arrive where needed, without delay. The Brown group is modeled after the REMEDY program at Yale, which was the first of more than 60 grassroots organizations that recycle usable medical supplies.
The Armenian project follows a February effort in which Brown REMEDY students worked to send 25 boxes of medical supplies worth thousands of dollars to earthquake victims in India. Share and Care Foundation, a local charitable organization, helped organize the India shipment. Several airlines transported the supplies.
REMEDY also helped raise $4,200 for quake relief by co-sponsoring a benefit dinner with the South Asian Student Association. The money was donated to Share and Care Foundation to aid its efforts.
"During the past two years, REMEDY has also provide supplies for medical charities in Guatemala, the Philippines, Kenya, and even local charities such as the Rhode Island Free Clinic," said second-year medical student Tyler Berzin. "We hope that over the next several years, we will be able to expand our operations to include donations from more local hospitals, so that we’ll have even more to offer to the international organizations that we’re working with."
Brown REMEDY students work closely with The Miriam Hospital. There, students run a supply-recycling program, saving unused medical and surgical items. Other local physicians and hospitals also donate equipment. Students sort and package the materials and maintain a database, which allows charities to make specific requests. The items are stored in a warehouse provided by the Lifespan hospital network.
REMEDY began at Brown in 1996 as the work of Dr. Rochelle S. Strenger, clinical assistant professor, based at The Miriam Hospital. In 1998, medical students became involved and helped expand the program.
For more information about the Brown REMEDY program, visit the Web site or contact REMEDYatBrown@hotmail.com.