Emergency Services & Donations

THI is deeply interested in helping to supply medical and hospital personnel and/or supplies during emergency or disaster situations.

THI prefers to work through existing international and relief organizations, so as to provide the most appropriate assistance, avoid duplication, and be as effective as possible.

Equipment & Supply Donation

THI has developed and implemented a program by which Trinity Health hospitals can recover and donate opened, but unused, surgical supplies to clinics and hospitals in developing countries. In addition, THI is often approached by Trinity Health hospitals regarding usable equipment they have available to donate to hospitals and clinics overseas. Appropriateness and sustainability of donations is of key importance to THI.

Before sending supplies or equipment overseas, THI takes care to determine that the items are usable and appropriate for the local environment. This includes ensuring that the local organization has access to manuals, supplies and trained maintenance.

If you are an organization or member of Trinity Health with available items for donation, click here to notify us. (Adobe Acrobat Reader required)

Disaster Response

As caring healthcare providers we are often called to action when disaster strikes domestically or abroad. As stewards of our valuable resources, we want to ensure that the actions we take in these situations are effective and beneficial to their maximum potential.

The following guide was developed by Trinity Health International, a subsidiary of Trinity Health, to assist Trinity service and member organizations as well as other healthcare organizations who may choose to utilize it, as they respond to international disasters.

Volunteers

Wanting to reach out... lend a hand... respond... is a common reaction that we all have when we learn of humanitarian needs. In this age of modern technology, the world is a smaller place and heart-wrenching images can make their way into our living rooms and our lives far too frequently.

THI does not typically encourage the placement of volunteers in an emergency response situation unless the group is very well organized and working through existing relief agencies. Typically, this requires time. Issues that should be considered when making a decision to place volunteers or sponsor a relief team include:

• Will your volunteers be working through existing international or local relief agencies already on the ground? If not, who are their contacts and what facilities will be utilized to conduct their work? Will this burden the local caregivers and further limit their available resources?
• Can your volunteers be fully effective on-site?
• Will your volunteers have the resources locally to accomplish what they need to do?
• Will your volunteers further burden an already stretched local infrastructure (hotels, potable water, etc.)?
• Will your volunteers be at risk or in danger?
• Do the individuals who are volunteering have the appropriate mix of skills and expertise for the local needs?

If a decision is made to move forward with a relief group, THI recommends that consideration be given to how risks can be minimized and effectiveness maximized:

• Make contact with the local religious community who may serve as a resource or link to help maximize your effectiveness. If not your own religious community, then contact others; most U.S. Catholic healthcare organizations have an international religious community - please see the
  consortium listing.
• Take as much of your own medical supplies as possible - don¹t deplete what is probably already a limited local resource.
• Make sure you can obtain potable drinking water locally and bring flashlights and batteries.
• Identify a means of maintaining regular communication with each other, especially if the group is working at different locations.
• Register your presence in country with the U.S. Embassy or Consulate and inform them in writing of your dates on site and location.
• Obtain medical evacuation insurance for team members.
• Have a communication plan so that the on-site team can reach a contact in the U.S. when necessary.
• Make sure the services being offered/rendered are truly necessary.
• Work with a relief agency or local organization - don¹t "just show up".
• Provide the team with an orientation to the culture and to the circumstances; prepare them for potential frustrations.

Equipment and Supply

"A room full of good intentions" is how one donation to an overseas organization was once aptly described. Unfortunately, donations of equipment and supplies aren¹t always the most appropriate for the local needs and environment. Equipment donation is especially complex, as various factors should be considered:

• Does the equipment require electricity or water, which may not be available?
• Is the technology appropriate for the level of services provided locally?
• Is the equipment functional?
• Will the local organization be able to obtain the supplies (i.e. reagents) necessary in order to operate the equipment; will they be cost prohibitive?
• Will the recipient organization be able to obtain spare parts in order to maintain the equipment?
• Is there a user manual in a language that is locally understood?
• Will there be local technicians proficient in maintenance & repair and users proficient in utilization of the equipment?

THI staff has witnessed situations in which equipment donations intended with goodwill ended up costing the recipient organization money to dispose of because the above issues had not been addressed and the recipient could not utilize the items. Money was wasted and a hopeful expectation of aid turned into a disappointing effort. THI is, at times, able to place used, but good equipment that meet pre-set criteria in overseas locations throughout the year.

The World Health Organization has specific guidelines, which most foreign governments have adopted, for the donation of pharmaceuticals. These guidelines require that pharmaceuticals have a one- (1) year shelf life remaining in order to be eligible for donation except in rare circumstances. THI has a supply recovery program that focuses on the recovery of surgical supplies that have been opened, but unused and have not entered the surgical field. These items (those that are not reprocessed) are recovered and shipped to a THI holding area. Items from this inventory are utilized by Trinity surgical teams during their overseas medical missions and also made available for donation to clinics and hospitals overseas through the Catholic Medical Mission Board.

Again, we recommend that equipment, supplies and other "physical" (i.e. food, clothing) donations, be coordinated via international and local relief agencies. During the Balkan Crisis, well-intentioned shipments were overwhelming the customs and port authorities and causing a backlog that the government was not prepared to handle. The outcome was that much needed, "targeted" shipments of supplies from the relief agencies were not reaching their destinations.

Cash

While cash donations don¹t always satisfy our own heartfelt desires to help out, they are often the most effective forms of relief assistance. Cash donations allow the international and local relief organizations who have a strong pulse on the situation to identify the most critical needs and immediately purchase goods and services locally to address them. They diminish the time and logistical support necessary and help infuse the local economy.

Summary Tips for Effective Giving

• Cash donations are the preferred form of relief
• If you are sending people, equipment or supplies, make sure they are appropriate for the local needs and can be sustained locally.
• Make sure your people are safe and not adding stress to the local infrastructure.
• Work through existing relief agencies.
• Obtain accurate information before reacting.
• Make sure you respond with the best form of relief - what works in one situation may not work in another.

Resource Organizations

The following is a listing of organizations and resources that have experience in international disaster relief and may be able to provide you with further information. Trinity Health International provides this list as a resource, not an endorsement of these organizations.

The Catholic Consortium for International Health

For Immunization Information:

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