Each year the ASC hosts a Give Back Program Community Service Project. The goal of this program is to give back to the local communities that we are visiting for the ASC Annual Convention and Expo. This past April, the ASC partnered with SOS Health and Hope of Louisville, Kentucky.
“SOS improves global health and the environment through recovery and redistribution of surplus medical supplies. We are a global health non-profit that meets critical health care needs in medically impoverished communities around the world by collecting and distributing surplus medical supplies and equipment.” SOS Health and Hope not only helps the local community of Louisville, Kentucky but reaches out internationally to over 106 countries.
How do they do it? “The U.S. produces more than 5.9 million tons of medical waste every year, of which 2 million tons annually, or 5,500 tons per day, is reported to be unused or still in working order. Many of those items thrown away and destined for a nearby landfill, have the capacity to change or save a life. SOS steps up to disrupt this cycle, collecting these usable resources – from syringes to x-ray machines and everything in between – and responsibly redistributes them to improve health in communities, both across the globe and in our own backyard.”
While we were at the SOS facility, a group of us from the ASC were able to help disassemble medical packs and sort items into appropriate bins to be donated. SOS does not lie when they say they have everything from syringes to x-ray machines. We were able to separate items in bins anywhere from tracheostomy, anesthesia, clothes, dressings, general surgery, and so much more.
Visit SOS website to learn more!
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