Duke to Donate Surplus Medical Equipment, Supplies for Projects in Developing Countries
This effort is part of Duke's new surplus donation program that will replace the retail surplus store in the Shoppes at Lakewood
Thursday, June 28, 2007
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Durham, NC -- Each year, tens of thousands of dollars of medical equipment and supplies within Duke University Health System (DUHS) are designated as “surplus.” This is equipment that is set aside because it is being replaced by newer equipment, or medical supplies, that have been prepared for but not actually used in surgical or other medical procedures. This equipment can change lives in developing countries.
Starting July 1, Duke will introduce a new surplus donation program that will replace the retail store it has operated since 1996 in the Shoppes at Lakewood. One result will be more opportunities for members of the Duke community, through Duke Global Health PLUS (Placement of Life-changing Used Surplus), to donate surplus medical equipment and supplies for projects that improve health in developing countries.
“This project is part of a creative effort by Duke to address the needs of under-resourced communities that are unable to provide adequate surgical or intensive care services,” said Victor J. Dzau, M.D., Chancellor for Health Affairs at Duke. “It is gratifying and humbling to see the faculty and students within the Schools of Medicine and Nursing come together to make a substantial difference in this way. The project in Uganda this summer is a terrific example of the difference that can be made through this effort of the Duke Global Health institute.”
Mike Haglund, M.D., Ph.D., a Duke neurosurgeon, has partnered with Duke Global Health PLUS <http://globalhealth.duke.edu/ghplus> and other medical equipment companies to take a neurosurgery team and more than $1 million worth of equipment and donations to Uganda.
“When I visited New Mulago Hospital in Kampala, I saw them performing brain surgery with equipment that looked like what was used at Duke in the ’30s and ’40s,” Haglund said. “It is not often you get the opportunity to change how an entire country practices medicine. With the gift of this material and training, we can and will change how neurosurgery is practiced in East Africa.”
The mission of Duke Global Health PLUS is to make surplus medical equipment and material from DUHS available to healthcare professionals around the world. To ensure that the equipment is used well, Global Health PLUS encourages applicants to use the knowledge and resources from different schools, departments and centers within Duke so that the people receiving the donations can use and maintain them. In this way, no donations are left unused due to a lack of training, a lack of replacement parts or because no one can fix them when problems arise.
Duke Global Health PLUS is administered through the Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI). Duke faculty, staff, students or Duke-affiliated physicians can apply for equipment, supplies and support for projects to improve health in developing countries. These projects do not need to be funded by Duke, but must have a Duke faculty member as a sponsor.
Programs that Duke Global Health PLUS is already working with include: REMEDY@Duke (Recovering Medical Equipment for the Developing World), Engineering Without Borders at Duke University, Duke-Uganda 2007 Neurosurgery Initiative, and the Duke University and Duke Medicine Surplus Program
In addition, Duke faculty, staff, students or affiliated physicians who wish to work with Duke to provide non-medical supplies and equipment to charitable causes both locally and internationally can contact the Duke University and Duke Medicine Surplus Program.
