Group Fights To Salvage Billions Of Dollars In Medical Supplies From Trash

BOSTON (CBS) – It happens for a variety of reasons – working medical equipment scrapped when newer models are bought, strict infection control rules that result in perfectly usable stuff being tossed. Whatever the reason, it’s enough to make you shake your head and say – what a waste: an estimated $760 billion in medical supplies that financially-strapped hospitals and clinics here and abroad desperately need, tossed in the trash each year, a chronic problem spotlighted by the investigative website Pro Publica. A possible answer is in progress in a warehouse near Portland, Maine, piled high with millions of dollars worth of ready-to-use medical supplies. An unremarkable sight, until visitors realize everything there was rescued from the trash. Visitors to the facility run by the non-profit Partners for World Health (PFWH) are “just incredulous over the fact that so much of this material is being thrown out and wasted,” says Dr. Hector Tarraza of the Maine Medical Center in a PFWH video.  “And the reality of it is it doesn’t need to be, it really doesn’t.” For the past eight years, PFWH has collected, sorted and shipped these supplies to healthcare facilities in need. Says Elizabeth McLellan, founder of the group, in a Red Cross video honoring her work: “After we sort and organize all these items, we’re helping those who are less fortunate than we are, this is a win-win. This lowers our healthcare costs, prevents an impa...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Health Keller @ Large Local News Seen On WBZ-TV Syndicated Local Watch Listen Hospitals Jon Keller What A Waste Source Type: news