MedShare is a national non-profit organization that recovers surplus medical supplies and equipment from U.S. hospitals and manufacturers, and redistributes them to needy hospitals in developing countries.
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About
Founded in 1998, MedShare's mission is "to bridge the gap between surplus and need through the efficient recovery and redistribution of surplus medical supplies and equipment to those in need." MedShare collects surplus medical supplies and used equipment from U.S. hospitals, manufacturers and distributors. They process these donated materials and make them available to under-served hospitals and clinics in two ways: direct shipments to international applicant institutions and supplying medical mission teams with commonly needed medical items.
MedShare is one of the leading medical supply recovery organizations in the United States with two distribution centers. Its national headquarters and Southeastern distribution center is in Decatur, Georgia, and its Western Region distribution center is in San Leandro, California. In 14 years of service, they have shipped over 750 forty-foot shipping containers of medical supplies and equipment valued at more than $100 million to needy health facilities in 88 countries around the world.
History
MedShare was founded in 1998 by A.B. Short, a nonprofit entrepreneur, and Bob Freeman, a retired businessman, after learning of the environmental threat imposed by hospitals and medical companies discarding thousands of tons of medical supplies and equipment, while underserved hospitals in developing countries were desperate for the most basic medical items.
Short and Freeman spent some time meeting with hospitals and medical professionals to find out if there was indeed a need for medical surplus supplies to be diverted from landfills. During these meetings, not one hospital turned their medical surplus collection program down. While performing their due diligence, they also learned of the importance of shipping medical supplies that the recipient needs, not simply shipping what they had, which led MedShare to employ a technology-based inventory system, where the qualified health recipient can custom-order the medical items for their shipment.
Services and operations
MedShare uses a variety of services to get recovered surplus medical supplies and equipment from U.S. hospitals and medical companies and to qualified health recipients abroad.
1) Medical Product Donations – MedShare collects hundreds of thousands of pounds of surplus medical supplies from both hospitals and medical companies. They collect a weekly average of over 20,000 pounds of surplus medical supplies and equipment from both hospitals and medical companies. MedShare only accepts unused medical supplies that have an expiration date of at least 12–18 months or more. Biomedical equipment donations must be in working condition with the all the necessary accessories and operational manual included. MedShare's biomedical engineers evaluate biomedical equipment donations to ensure they are in operable condition before they are sent to a health recipient abroad.
2. Volunteers – MedShare offers hands-on volunteer opportunities for people to help in getting vital medical supplies to needy health recipients abroad. Each month, more than 1,500 volunteers serve at both the Southeastern and Western Distribution Centers to help sort and pack recovered surplus medical supplies. There are different sorting levels where volunteers start with assorted donated medical supplies, and eventually sort them into boxes of individual medical items, such as a box of sutures and a box of surgical gloves and a box of surgical drapes.
3. Medical Product Shipments The main way MedShare distributes donated surplus medical supplies and equipment around the world is through customized 40-foot shipping containers. They work with foreign governments, corporations, nonprofit organizations and individuals who wish to sponsor shipments of medical aid to specified recipient hospitals and clinics abroad. Each sponsor must fill out an application detailing the needs of the recipient hospital and provide the necessary funding for the shipment.
4. MedShare Online Inventory MedShare prides itself on its innovative use of technology to best use its resources and serve health recipients abroad. Approved health recipients are able to custom-order the supplies needed for their facilities using an online inventory. Once recovered surplus supplies have been sorted and packed by volunteers, they are entered into an online inventory database by MedShare staff. The online inventory is refreshed every hour to reflect the most up-to-date items available for recipients to order. Once a recipient's application is approved and funding in place, he/she is provided a personalized login to order the medical supplies for their 40-foot shipping container. Because of limited availability of biomedical equipment, only medical supplies are listed on the online inventory. The health recipient must submit a written request to MedShare of any biomedical equipment needs.
5. Medical Mission Teams MedShare also provides medical supplies to medical professionals traveling abroad on short term trips to provide medical treatment for those in need. Medical teams must fill out an application detailing the nature of their medical trip and supply needs. Once their application is approved, they can either set up an appointment to collect supplies at the MedTeam Store at either of our distribution centers in Decatur, GA or San Leandro, California. MedShare asks for a $75 donation to collect up to 50 pounds of medical supplies from our MedTeam Store. Teams needing more than 100 pounds of medical supplies can order from MedShare's online inventory. If a medical mission team is unable to pick up the supplies at one of the distribution centers, the team can pay for MedShare to ship them the supplies they need.
Funding
MedShare is 100% reliant on philanthropic support from more than 4,000 corporations, foundations, and individuals to fund its operations and receives no government funding.
MedShare is governed by a board of 19 diverse and distinguished corporate, community and healthcare industry leaders. 100% of board members participate in annual and capital fund-raising campaigns at a personally sacrificial level. Throughout its 14-year history, MedShare has been spending on average less than four percent of total revenues on administration and fund-raising expenses.
Organizational structure
MedShare is a U.S. nonprofit organization with an international mission that is overseen by a Board of Trustees that serves as MedShare's governing body, responsible for the fiduciary, strategic and generative oversight and direction of the organization. Board members support 100% of the organization’s annual and capital fundraising campaigns. Members serve without compensation, and meet once a quarter. The current Chairman of the Board of Trustees is James E. Arnett.
MedShare's national staff consists of 37 people, with 5 executive officers.
Awards and recognitions
MedShare is a four-star ranked charity by Charity Navigator. They have also been ranked by Charity Navigator's periodic Top Ten lists as #2 out of 53 international charities providing humanitarian aid, #2 on the list of “Slam Dunk Charities” for fiscal responsibility, and listed on Charity Navigator's list of recommended nonprofits providing disaster relief to Haiti. MedShare is ranked as one of the “Best in America” charities by Independent Charities of America. In 2008, they received the Technology Innovation Award from TechBridge for the best use of technology for mission delivery by a nonprofit for our inventory system that enables beneficiaries to select exactly what they need. They were also awarded the 2008 Revolutions Award from the Georgia Center for Nonprofits recognizing the Nonprofit of the Year. In 2010, the Atlanta Business Chronicle named them the Green Giving Champion at the Environmental Business Awards. In 2010, MedShare's Western Region earned their Green Business Certification from Bay Area Green Business Program and was the Bay Area Excellence in Volunteer Management Award Winner. They've also been named a 2010 and 2011 Waste Reduction Awards, Program (WRAP) winner by the State of California’s Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery CalRecycle. The Southeastern Region recently received Grants to Green funding to support our ongoing energy conservation efforts.