Catholic Health World

Hospitals, manufacturers come through for Haitian relief efforts

Truckloads of donated medical and emergency supplies for Haitian earthquake relief efforts are arriving daily at the Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach warehouses in Springfield, Ill., and Chicago. Three weeks after the quake, as Catholic Health World goes to press, the volume of goods moving through the warehouse is increasing. "I would say it will be like this for months to come," says Bruce Compton, the organization's president and chief executive, shown here in the Springfield warehouse.

Medical product manufacturers and hospitals are combing their inventories to contribute through Mission Outreach and its partners specific items ordered by caregivers in Haiti. The organization is working with the U.S. Navy, Food for the Poor, the Catholic Medical Mission Board and Partners in Health to distribute supplies in Haiti.

"We are making sure we are getting people exactly what they want," Compton says. "If they don't ask for it, we are not sending it. That is how we do it. We want to make sure the (donations) are not wasted, or end up sitting on a dock" unclaimed. Likewise, Compton is asking would-be donors to call before loading pallets and boxes for Mission Outreach. "If we get stuff we don't need, it bogs down our warehouse," he says.

Mission Outreach is not a disaster relief organization, but long-standing partnerships with government and nongovernmental agencies have enabled it to participate in the global first response to the Haitian crisis. "Those logistics are really paying off," Compton says.

Copyright © 2010 by the Catholic Health Association of the United States
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