03/24/2022
Wentworth-Douglass Hospital, Staff Donate to Ukraine
As the world continues to witness heartbreaking images coming out of Ukraine, Wentworth-Douglass Hospital and its employees have felt called upon to help however they can, collecting monetary donations as well as donating about $25,000 worth of medical supplies and equipment.
More than 50 staff members at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital have generously donated $8,300 in just 10 days to be used for the purchase of critical medical supplies to be sent to Ukraine.
“The events unfolding in Ukraine have been devastating for all of us to watch and hear about. We felt we had to do something to help support the Ukrainian people,” said Meredith Bedsworth, DNP, CRNA.
Meredith and Caroline King, PA-C, teamed up to spearhead the effort to collect donations from members of the Surgical Services and Anesthesiology Departments. They said they felt closer to the crisis as a member of their team, Dr. Dmytro Havaleshko, Medical Director for the Center for Weight Management & Bariatric Surgery and Chair of Robotic Surgery, is from Ukraine, and still has close friends and family there.
They set out thinking they would raise several hundred dollars but have been overwhelmed with the outpouring of generosity.
“So many people that we work with have reached out to donate,” Caroline said. “It really hit home for people working in healthcare. We have access to these medical supplies, but our counterparts in Ukraine may not, and they’re working to save lives in battle zones.”
The money will be sent to the charitable organization Razom, a nonprofit created by Ukrainian Americans in 2014. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Razom has been sending medical supplies like Mobile X-ray machines, AED machines, defibrillators, bandages and wound dressings, sterile pads, and much more.
“Everyone in the OR has been so supportive of this cause and has really shown up,” Caroline said.
Thanks to all of the departments who identified products and equipment to be donated, our Materials Management team was able to donate five pallets of medical supplies and equipment last week to Partners for World Health (PWH), a non-profit organization based out of Portland, Maine. PWH collects medical supplies and equipment, and distributes them to those in need in the United States and worldwide.
They are preparing a shipping container filled with $250,000 worth of medical supplies to be sent to Ukraine.
Partners for World Health received a wish list from healthcare facilities in Ukraine that they are working to fill. Materials Management was able to donate sterilization and OR products valued at over $12,000, as well as X-Ray equipment, gloves, needles, wound care products, and sutures worth an estimated $8,000 to $13,000.
"We donate pallets of supplies and equipment to Partners for World Health every month, and I think when word got out that they were sending a container to Ukraine, people wanted to chip in even more," said Kimberly Alexander, Director of Materials Management. "Additionally, on March 31st, a team of 15 Wentworth-Douglass staff traveled to Partners for World Health in Portland to volunteer four hours of their time. They helped to sort through the products to better organize and prepare to ship them to those in need."