Dec26MediSendMediSend trainees and staff say goodbye to shipments headed for Papua New Guinea.Desperately needed biomedical equipment such as defibrillators, infant incubators, and sonogram machines are en route from MediSend to Papua New Guinea.

Grants from ExxonMobil and the Maersk Line have made the humanitarian shipments possible. The ocean-going containers are filled with more than $1 million worth of diagnostic and therapeutic medical equipment that will help hospitals and clinics deliver reliable and safe health care to communities throughout the country.

MediSend-trained biomedical equipment technicians are in place in Papua New Guinea hospitals to ensure that the equipment is professionally maintained and repaired. Equipment such as incubators and birthing beds will mean a reduction in infant mortality in a country where rates are high. Equipment taken for granted in the US, such as defibrillators and ultrasound machines, will end unnecessary suffering and deaths, according to MediSend.

“Since 2007, we have trained and sent 95 professional biomedical repair technicians to hospitals in 18 countries,” said Nick Hallack, president and CEO of MediSend. “Each is capable of maintaining and repairing not only the biomedical equipment we ship, but all equipment typically found in developing country hospitals. None of this extraordinary work would be possible without the belief and support of our friends and sponsors. Together, we are saving lives and building strong foundations for health care systems around the world.”              

All equipment is either new or has been completely refurbished and converted to the electrical system of the receiving country. The Texas Department of Public Health Services has certified MediSend’s state-of-the-art biomedical repair laboratory.

According to MediSend, it employs a unique model of sustainability by combining medical distribution with its training and ongoing technical support programs. To date, MediSend has trained 10 certified biomedical equipment technicians for hospitals in Papua New Guinea. The professional technicians are trained and equipped to properly install, repair, maintain, and calibrate essential biomedical equipment and to instruct physicians, nurses, and health care providers in its proper use.

In addition to biomedical equipment, the organization included 10 MediSend Mobile Biomedical Equipment Test and Repair Kits in the containers headed for Papua New Guinea. Each kit has a value of $20,000. All MediSend technicians’ hospitals will receive a kit, essentially a modern biomedical repair laboratory. Designed to complement MediSend’s Biomedical Equipment Technology Program, the kits contain more than 4,000 laboratory repair tools, supply items, and state-of-the-art test and calibration equipment critical to the repair and maintenance of biomedical equipment.