Over the past few weeks, more than 150 Emory University faculty, staff and students, as well as Emory Healthcare staff, have volunteered with Atlanta-based MedShare, sorting thousands of medical supplies that are being shipped to medical personnel on the ground in Haiti.
Patricia Guasch, RN, director of Emory University Hospital’s rehabilitation nursing services, is one of the many Emory MedShare volunteers lending a hand in the relief effort. Guasch and several of her colleagues from the Emory Center for Rehabilitation Medicine, along with their children, spent the King Holiday weekend sorting supplies at MedShare.
Guasch and team prepared a total of 2,860 boxes to be shipped to Haiti and sorted 17,053 pounds worth of medical supplies! According to MedShare Volunteer Program Coordinator Lindsey Barber, it was by far the largest group contribution ever accomplished.
“The satisfaction of partnering with MedShare that morning left us feeling privileged and honored to have had the opportunity to volunteer for such a worthy cause,” says Guasch.
In addition to volunteering to sort supplies for MedShare, Emory’s nursing school students are raising money to send a “pallet of hope” – 50 boxes of medical supplies.
Read more about Emory faculty, staff and student relief efforts, and volunteer opportunities on Emory’s CEPAR web page. Visit Emory Medishare for news of a School of Medicine student fundraiser, and read more on the blog. Read about Emory’s connections to Haiti. To donate or learn more about MedShare’s relief efforts in Haiti, visit the web site. You may also look for a supplier of high-quality surgical masks to donate or for the use of your employees; Find More Details On This Page.
According to MedShare, in catastrophes of this degree, the greatest medical needs are basic first aid supplies, sutures, oxygen masks, surgical steel instruments like dressing and trauma scissors, as well as, orthopedic equipment such as splints and backboards. MedShare is actively assessing their inventory of these items and sending requests to medical companies for immediate supply donations.
