KENTUCKYONE HEALTH SENDS SUPPLIES TO EQUIP HOSPITAL IN HAITI - Archived

Contact:           
Tim Tomes, 502.644.8979, [email protected]
Barbara Mackovic, 502.641.5461, [email protected]

KENTUCKYONE HEALTH SENDS SUPPLIES TO EQUIP HOSPITAL IN HAITI
Louisville, KY – A new hospital under construction in a remote and poor area of Haiti will soon receive much needed medical supplies through a partnership of KentuckyOne Health and Supplies Over Seas (SOS).

The partnering organizations will celebrate the send-off of a 40-foot shipping container filled with dry medical supplies and equipment bound for Haiti on Tuesday, August 16 at 2 p.m., at Supplies Over Seas’ facility located at 1500 Arlington Avenue in Louisville.
 
The supplies will be sent to the Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan Center for Health (BJSH) in Côtes-de-Fer, Haiti and is made possible by KentuckyOne Health, with additional support from the Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s Foundation, Gould’s Discount Medical and Rocky Mountain Logistics.
 
New York-based Catholic Medical Missions Board (CMMB) is building the Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan Center for Health and sent a request for medical supplies to Denver-based Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI). KentuckyOne Health, a subsidiary of CHI, responded to the request and has coordinated with its Integrated Supply Chain and Clinical Engineering divisions to oversee the logistics of gathering the needed supplies and equipment. Supplies Over Seas has coordinated the details of shipping the supplies to Haiti.
 
Opening in September, the Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan Center for Health (BJSH) is a state-of-the-art health center that will serve nearly 50,000 residents and is a much-needed service to the remote and devastatingly poor city of Côtes-de-Fer. At present, the nearest hospital facility is 90 miles and a three-hour journey away over difficult terrain. For many local residents, especially those needing medical care, the journey is impossible.  
 
BJSH will be a model sustainable rural hospital and once fully operational will include an operating room, pharmacy, delivery room, maternity ward and emergency room. It will yield multiple benefits for local residents and medical professionals and students, as well as clinical and non-clinical volunteers.  
 
“We are honored to partner with Catholic Medical Missions Board and Supplies Over Seas to send supplies and equipment to the people of Côtes-de-Fer,” stated KentuckyOne Health CEO, Ruth W. Brinkley. “Our mission is to bring wellness, healing and hope to all. Reaching out to the people in this rural city in Haiti is another way to make a difference in the world in which we all live.”

The container will hold more than 12,000 pounds of medical supplies and equipment, valued at approximately $140,000. The container will carry supplies including:  anesthesia, clothing, drapes, general surgery, gloves, plastics, suction, obstetrics and gynecological supplies. Also included will be several pieces of medical equipment, such as:  amalgamator (dental), bassinets, exam tables, canes, crutches, crash carts, exam lights, dental chair, IV poles and pumps, infant warmers, fetal dopplers and monitors, incubators, labor/delivery beds, microscopes, pulse oximeters, infant and adult scales, ultrasound monitor, vital signs monitors, walkers, wheelchairs, x-ray viewers and lights, a urodynamic tester and more.
 
Melissa Mershon, Supplies Over Seas President & CEO said, “Supplies Over Seas has been partnering with KentuckyOne Health since 1993 and we are thrilled to assist in this amazing effort to bring health, hope and compassionate healthcare to the people of Haiti.”
 
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About Supplies Over Seas:  Supplies Over Seas (SOS) is a Louisville based 501(c)3 nonprofit that partners with hospitals and other medical institutions to recover surplus medical supplies and used equipment that would otherwise go into our landfills. The surplus is then redistributed to medically impoverished communities worldwide. In 2015, SOS received 153 tons of surplus medical supplies and equipment that would have otherwise gone into a landfill. SOS is one of only 15 medical surplus recovery organizations across the U.S. and the only such organization serving Kentucky, Southern Indiana and Southern Ohio. For more information call 502-736-6360 or visit: www.suppliesoverseas.org.
 
About KentuckyOne Health:  KentuckyOne Health, the largest and most comprehensive health system in the Commonwealth, has more than 200 locations including hospitals, physician groups, clinics, primary care centers, specialty institutes and home health agencies in Kentucky and southern Indiana.

KentuckyOne Health is dedicated to bringing wellness, healing and hope to all, including the underserved. The system is made up of the former Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare and Saint Joseph Health System, along with the University of Louisville Hospital and James Graham Brown Cancer Center. KentuckyOne Health is proud of and strengthened by its Catholic, Jewish and academic heritages.

For more information visit: www.kentuckyonehealth.org.

About Catholic Medical Missions Board:  CMMB is an international NGO providing long-term, co-operative medical and development aid to communities affected by poverty and unequal access to healthcare. For over a century, CMMB has worked to strengthen and support communities through healthcare programs and initiatives, the distribution of medicines and medical supplies through our Healing Help program, and the placement of volunteers.

CMMB’s global movement focuses on developing access to needs-based healthcare in partnership with communities, government and international agencies, private and corporate donors, medical and pharmaceutical manufacturers, and local organizations. For more information visit:  www.cmmb.org