Currently, excess medical supplies from Mayo Clinic are donated to Rochester Medical Mission Relief Group. There is no inventory system and all sorting of the supplies is done by volunteers. It is our chapter's goal to facilitate the development of an inventory system to track supplies leaving the hospital and entering the storage warehouse. This inventory system will help increase awareness of available supplies leading to more efficient transfer of supplies for mission trips.
Several graduates students and faculty in biomedical engineering started the Initiative for Medical Equipment Sustainability (IMES) several years ago to consider ways in which medical technology can be transferred to developing countries in a way that not only satisfies the immediate needs, but that is also sustainable. This will involve training local technicians to diagnose and repair equipment as well as improving access to necessary resources. We plan to establish sustainable preventative and corrective maintenance of endoscopy equipment at a public hospital in El Salvador.
Our group took an initial trip to El Salvador in November 2011. The trip was mostly used to gather information about the state of endoscopy equipment in El Salvador, including how the equipment is currently being cleaned, sterilized, and maintained. Based on our initial trip, endoscopy equipment at public hospitals in El Salvador is under-utilized due to inadequate maintenance techniques and an inability to repair damaged equipment. Together with stakeholders in the public hospitals and Operation Blessing El Salvador, we are working to develop solutions to the equipment repair problem and provide more comprehensive training/information on endoscope maintenance, leak testing, and repair. Our goal is to prolong the lifetime of endoscopy equipment in the public hospitals of El Salvador in order to increase patient access to gastroenterology.
Our group took an initial trip to El Salvador in November 2011. The trip was mostly used to gather information about the state of endoscopy equipment in El Salvador, including how the equipment is currently being cleaned, sterilized, and maintained. Based on our initial trip, endoscopy equipment at public hospitals in El Salvador is under-utilized due to inadequate maintenance techniques and an inability to repair damaged equipment. Together with stakeholders in the public hospitals and Operation Blessing El Salvador, we are working to develop solutions to the equipment repair problem and provide more comprehensive training/information on endoscope maintenance, leak testing, and repair. Our goal is to prolong the lifetime of endoscopy equipment in the public hospitals of El Salvador in order to increase patient access to gastroenterology.