2009-03-27 : “Hospital Leftovers”

Mar 27, 2009

Hospital Leftovers


Conservation, ecology, green...today's buzzwords. Finally, the world is beginning to pay attention to preserving natural resources and protecting the environment. In truth, many people promoted these values for years; and some even put their beliefs into very substantial efforts. Dr. Will Rosenblatt of Yale-New Haven Hospital was one of these visionaries. As an anesthesiologist at that hospital, Dr. Rosenblatt saw first-hand the waste that accumulated in the hospital's operating rooms...and waste in this instance refers to equipment and supplies. Critical, open-but-unused medical supplies from operating suites and other medical locations nationwide often go into our nation's landfills due to stringent insurance and legal restrictions that do not allow them to be used in other procedures even if they were never touched. REMEDY, Recovered Medical Equipment for the Developing World was started by Dr. Rosenblatt in 1991. In that time, millions and millions of dollars worth of equipment and supplies have been recovered and shipped to poor medical facilities around the world where they are desperately needed.

What makes REMEDY even more important is that their efforts have been adopted by hospitals across the country, thus compounding the benefits of this program many times over. The REMEDY website (www.remedyinc.org) serves as a link as well as a teaching tool for other facilities that have joined or are interested in becoming a part of the network.

Now to the very unfortunate reality-REMEDY is one of the many, many small non-profits that has been impacted by the current economic downturn. Despite their very modest budget, shortfalls in fund-raising have forced them to make several changes including the cut back of their very minimal staff. The Good People Fund grant was designated to help them wherever the need was greatest. We believe that this is a program that must continue its good work which impacts both our environment and the well-being and health of people around the world.