The staff at WMR works to supply low-cost prescription drugs and durable medical goods to impoverished individuals in the Detroit area, as well as provide medical supplies to international medical facilities. Approximately 100 shipments of medical goods are sent annually to hospitals in over 75 countries with the recipients of these items paying for only the cost of shipping. World Medical Relief is constantly receiving requests for supplies from international hospitals and the current list of most-asked for equipment includes: hospital beds, ventilators, fetal monitors, ultrasound machines, defibrillators, operating tables, autoclaves, and ECG monitors. Such requests could not be met without the generous donations of local hospitals. When area hospitals such as Beaumont and St. John’s undergo periodic equipment upgrades, they often call on World Medical Relief to pick up the discarded equipment. This is an environmentally-friendly, socially-conscious and tax-deductible method of recycling the hospitals’ “outdated” equipment.

WMR has an eight-story warehouse filled with donated medical supplies and equipment. Some of this equipment works and some doesn't, so M-HEAL helps with testing and repair before the equipment is shipped out to hospitals all over the world. M-HEAL members go to Detroit at least once a month to help with this project. Here's an overview of what we did on some past WMR trips:

- Hospital beds: These are in very high demand for hospitals in the developing world!  We tested the beds' ability to move up and down and raise the head and feet before putting them in a position that they can be shipped out in.

- Glucometers: We test the device with test strips and test solution, and put together "kits" containing all the necessary supplies (lancets, test strips, etc.)

- Wheelchairs: We make sure that all components are fastened well together and that the wheelchair can bear load.  There's a huge pile of footrests and other components to attach to wheelchairs that are missing parts.

- Neonatal warming devices: We tested incubators and blankets to make sure they reach the temperatures required to keep newborns stable.
 
- Inventory: We're finishing up the inventory project started in March 2008.  This is a huge push to create a database of all the equipment at WMR to help them more efficiently identify what they have and send it to hospitals in need.

Check out our calendar to find out when the next WMR trip is!