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| Subject: | (6/15/2006) |
| Question: | Who can start a REMEDY program? |
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| Answer: | Historically, REMEDY programs have been initiated by operating room staff at hospitals. This includes, surgeons, anesthesiologists, physician associates, technicians, but most often nurses. Because it is OR nurses, together with technicians who both set up before and break down following a surgical procedure (or at its cancellation), they are the people most responsible and conscious of the supplies prepared, opened, used, and discarded.
However, more and more REMEDY programs are being initiated by medical students, OR managers, materials managers, environmental services personnel, critical care staff, and even hospital or clinic administrators. At times, it is even a representative of a potential receiving charity who takes the initiative to hospital leadership. |
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| Subject: | (6/15/2006) |
| Question: | Who do I need to talk with at my hospital about starting a REMEDY program? |
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| Answer: | Because it is the operating room staff that must be part of the ongoing work of REMEDY, some initial discussion with that staff, or its managers to gain support for a project is suggested. Often they will be 100% supportive and take it from there. Sometimes there is a need to keep working your way to the top...even to the hospital executives. The culture of each hospital is slightly different. Our Teaching Packet addresses some strategies. We are happy to discuss any challenges or barriers you may run into, and suggest alternative strategies for success, based on our experience. |
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| Subject: | (6/15/2006) |
| Question: | Who are the people involved in running a program? |
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| Answer: | A project team can take on many different looks. Some are maintained by all OR nurses, some a mix of OR staff, some a combination of hospital staff and lay hospital volunteers, some nurses with medical/university students working with volunteers from a receiving charity....and many more. The essential thing is that there is ongoing consistent oversight (or mentored oversight), division of responsibilities (segregation of recovered supplies, dirty sort, decontamination, clean sort, packing, transfer), clear communication, and careful documentation. |
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| Subject: | (6/15/2006) |
| Question: | Who do I call if I have a problem finding a charity to donate stuff to? |
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| Answer: | Contact the REMEDY office. We maintain a database of close to 1000 non-profit organizations based in the United States who may be interested in recovered surgical supplies. We can suggest organizations in your local area, those with a national base, those that support aid to specific countries, those that are faith-based and those that are not, etc. |
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| Subject: | (6/15/2006) |
| Question: | Who do I call if I have a legal question about our REMEDY program? |
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| Answer: | Contact the REMEDY office. If you have questions about the legality or hospital liability that are not addressed by the material in our Teaching Packet, or if your hospital legal department is hesitating to approve your program, we can try to help. We will attempt to put you in touch with attorneys who are willing to discuss the issues. These are usually attorneys who have had some involvement in an already active program. |
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| Subject: | (6/15/2006) |
| Question: | Who needs clean recovered supplies? |
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| Answer: | Medical professionals working in desperately poor communities in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America are in dire need of clean, good quality medical supplies to care for local populations. In some situations, patients are required to provide all equipment and supplies necessary for a needed procedure. In addition, volunteer medical trips made by US medical professionals are always in need of equipment to help achieve their missions. |
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| Subject: | (6/15/2006) |
| Question: | Who is responsible for shipping the recovered supplies overseas? |
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| Answer: | The US-based medical charities to whom the recovered supplies are donated assume legal, financial and administrative responsibility for successful distribution of the medical supplies overseas. Why reinvent the wheel? It is usually the mission of these organizations to effectively provide the assistance and support where needed. A hospital based supply recovery program acts as a "procurement project" for the benefit of these charities, enabling them to fulfill their mission. It is important for successful delivery that every effort is made to get supplies where they are needed, rather than to the "black market." Strong organization and contacts are needed not only here, but on the receiving end also to guide materials to their intended destination. |
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| Subject: | (6/15/2006) |
| Question: | Who else in my area is collecting supplies? |
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| Answer: | Check our list of active REMEDY-based surgical supply recovery programs, or contact us. |
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