International Challenges of Power Quality (CT project in Tanzania)

In his most recent trip to Tanzania, TriMedx Foundation Volunteer Shannon McNutt (a TriMedx senior imaging service technician for St. Thomas and Baptist hospitals in Nashville, TN), worked on repairing the GE CT that was originally installed in 2009. He describes the overall project as an act of persistence and dedication. In order to fully appreciate his comments, we must go back in time.

In late 2009, Shannon and fellow volunteer Eric Fannin (imaging service engineer at Carondelet St. Joseph/St. Mary’s Hospital, MO) were recruited by TriMedx Foundation to install the CT and contrast injector. Eric inventoried and prepared the CT in Minneapolis for shipment to Tanzania. Then in December, Eric and Shannon traveled to Arusha Lutheran Medical Center (ALMC) to install the device. This was the first CT in the City of Arusha (est. population 1 million) with the capacity to save and impact hundreds of lives.

The system was fully installed and booted up with no errors and an X-ray tube calibration completed successfully. Then, the power went out and the system failures began: Image Generator (IG), complete Octane computer, O2 computer audio module and hard drive.

Since 2009, the volunteer team has ordered and tested numerous parts, coordinated conference calls, waited six months for parts to clear customs, traveled to ALMC, installed a UPS for the Operator Console as well as an Incoming power TVSS Transient Voltage Surge Suppressor, and educated hospital administration of facilities and environmental concerns and issues.

When Shannon went to Tanzania in April, he went with eyes wide open to the challenges of local resources and logistics. While there, he installed a power surge protector, which was put into action the first day when the power went out twice and it logged 200,000 surges from early morning until 5pm.

While still facing challenges, he was able to get the CT software to work on the current console. However, the board they replaced in 2009 has started to fail and replacement parts will need to be ordered. He will be working in Nashville to put together instructions on system reboots, restores and minor calibration procedures for the technicians to use for reference.

Since his return, Shannon and the ALMC administration are continuing to research the required steps to repair the CT to a functional status and maintain its functionality. Please continue to pray for wisdom and discernment as the team continues their work on this project.

Readying equipment for the mission field

Gary Lindquist, TriMedx Biomed Equipment Technician at Genesys Regional Medical Center (Grand Blanc, MI), recently traveled to Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach (Springfield, IL), a medical surplus recovery organization and the recipient of our new equipment donation referral program.

While with them, Gary spent his time evaluating medical equipment for redeployment in the mission field. In 2011, Gary spent several weeks in  TriMedx Foundation’s Repair Center, making him the perfect candidate to help create a new process for repair support at the Mission Outreach site.

Moving the repair process to Springfield is saving valuable time and resources instead of transporting the equipment to Indianapolis for repair. Vicki Detmers of Mission Outreach had this to say:

“Gary has evaluated over 60 devices and created a parts order list for future repairs. In fact, we were able to include 6 critical devices, including an EKG and cardiac monitor, in shipments that went out this week that would not have happened without the help of Gary and TriMedx Foundation.”

TriMedx Foundation is planning the next repair trip to Mission Outreach in August of this year. If you are interested in volunteering for a domestic or international medical equipment repair mission trip, contact us for an application and guidance at missions@trimedxfoundation.org.

Take a day off, help save a life

Do you have a mission when out on the greens? We invite you to join ours!

Monday, September 26, 2011
The Bridgewater Club, 3535 E. 161st St., Carmel, IN
11 a.m.: Lunch & Registration
Noon: Shotgun Start
5 p.m.: Reception & Awards

Join us for TriMedx Foundation‘s 2011 Mission On The Greens golf outing, the Foundation’s main fundraising event. Our golfers enjoy lunch prior to a shotgun start and a traveling beverage cart, followed by a reception and brief award ceremony. Last year’s event raised a record $51,000 for medical missions.

This year’s event will be hosted by The Bridgewater Club in Carmel, set in a beautiful, private housing community. For more information on the course, you can visit their website at thebridgewaterclub.com.

All event profits go directly to missions, enabling TriMedx Foundation to improve healthcare in impoverished communities by repairing broken medical equipment in mission hospitals and clinics and educating locals to perform basic equipment repair functions.

Please mark your calendar now and plan to join us on September 26th. Event registration, volunteering and other details will come your way soon! If you have any questions about this event or TriMedx Foundation in the meantime, please comment below or contact me at mary.owens@trimedxfoundation.org.

All the best,

Mary Owens
Development Director, TriMedx Foundation
mary.owens@trimedxfoundation.org
(317) 275-1555

Small actions, big impact

Ever wonder what happens with dollars donated to TriMedx Foundation?

“Hi, how are U? the costomAir machine in ICU doesn’t stabilize. What can I do to fix it. I’m waiting for you, co it’s a emergency.”

Joseph Rivière, a BMET trainee at Hôpital Sacré Coeur (HSC) in Haiti, posed this question in an email to TriMedx Foundation Volunteer Mike Hoyt, a clinical engineer with St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, Ind. A couple of replies later, Rivière fired off his final message:

“Think you very much, I just follow your instruction and I repaired [the equipment].”

And so a patient who might have been sent home without proper care got the help he or she needed. Such is the impact of TriMedx Foundation volunteers and donors. Day after day, donations to TriMedx Foundation continue to make a difference:

“Hi, we find a good pleasure to talk to you about BIOMED tech project at HSC from Milot. For this month we’ve learn many things and have a lot of information about the equipments in the Hospital. Please, ask the trainer James Fanfan to come down again. Cos we think it very successful.” Joseph Rivière & Denis Alce, HSC 

“We continue to look forward to the wonderful opportunity that our technicians are gaining through this program.” Tim Traynor, HSC

 “hi Mary, how you doing? I’m denis Alce a student in biomed tech i’m in training now in hospital sacre coeur in milot of haiti i would like to keep touch with you. Gods bless.” Denis Alce, HSC

  “Hi Mary, Many thanks … We are very grateful for the help and support of TriMedx.” Denise Kelly, The CRUDEM Foundation Inc. 

Ever wonder what happens with dollars donated to TriMedx Foundation? Now you know: 100% of your donated dollars go straight to the mission field, whether it’s sending technicians to repair broken equipment or equipping local hospitals to maintain that equipment after we’re gone.

Please take a moment to help us spread the word. Thank you, again, for helping us extend hope and health to hurting families around the world.

All the best,

Mary Owens
Development Director
TriMedx Foundation
mary.owens@trimedxfoundation.org
(317) 275-1555

Gary Lindquist to Train Locals in Haiti

Gary Lindquist speaks to NBC25 of Michigan.

Gary Lindquist, a TriMedx clinical engineer at Genesys Regional Medical Center in Michigan, heads to Haiti this Saturday to train locals on diagnosing and fixing medical equipment.

“Just from what I’ve heard and saw pictures of their willingness to learn, that’s encouraging,” he shares with a local TV news program. “The amount of people we’ll be able to help keeping this medical equipment up and running is amazing. People travel for days for medical care, and if they don’t have the equipment running, they need to diagnose the problem. Otherwise it’s a waste of a trip for them.”

Gary’s trip is part of the TriMedx Foundation’s Mission Lifecycle Program, designed to establish clinical engineering departments in each hospital.

Volunteer Update: Mission Lifecycle Program’s First Classroom Session

Last month, Melissa Hendricks, senior BMET III of St. Luke’s (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Merrill Brown, TriMedx Foundation‘s mission projects manager, left for St. Boniface Hospital in Fond des Blancs, Haiti.

When they arrived on January 31, five students were waiting for them, ready to learn. The Haitian students were selected by St. Boniface and Hôpital Sacré Coeur in Milot as a part of TriMedx Foundation’s Mission Lifecycle Program, designed to establish clinical engineering departments in each hospital.

The program’s goal is to keep the hospital’s medical equipment up and running on a consistent basis. To that end, the program will cover medical terminology, enabling hospital staffers to respond to equipment failures and communicate the make, model and nature of the failure.

Melissa instructed the students on AC/DC power currents, use of a voltage meter, and why proper input voltage is important to equipment operations. Following classroom exercises included included cleaning and learning the name of each device, how it is used by a doctor, and familiarity with tools of the trade.

In the afternoons, Melissa showed the students how to perform repair and preventative maintenance rounds, ensuring each device remains in working condition.

Next, Gary Lindquist of Genesys Regional Medical Center in Michigan will serve on the March Mission Lifecycle trip to Hôpital Sacré Coeur in Milot. Gary will reinforce prior instruction and present each student with his own bag of tools.

If you’d like to volunteer for a mission trip, we invite you to read about upcoming opportunities here. Thanks again for your support!