MedShare

MedShare’s Western Region opened in 2008 and since then we have shipped over 70 containers of life-changing medical aid to hospitals in the developing world. Additionally, we have provisioned hundreds of medical teams as well as safety-net clinics throughout California. We have established partnerships with the leading hospitals in Northern CA and prevented hundreds of tons of medical supplies from going to area landfills. Here, you will find information on our facility location, how to support our mission (you can volunteer or donate), news on recent and upcoming projects and events, hospital partners, and our staff. Thank you for all that you do to support MedShare's mission.

-Mary Bersot, Chair, Western Regional Council

MedShare's Western Regional Council Members with Executive Director Chuck Haupt

MedShare's operations depend on its volunteers to get these life-saving supplies to people who desperately need them. Learn more about volunteer opportunities or sign up.

• On August 2, 2011, MedShare received the 2011 Pavitra Crimmel Reuse Award from the California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA). The award was presented at the 35th Annual CRRA Conference held in San Diego on August 2. Read more.  
• MedShare's Western Region Council is raising money to send a container of medical aid to Livingstone General Hospital, a 325-bed government healthcare facility in Zambia. The country has the one of the highest HIV rates in the world, and the biggest challenge they face is the non-availability of equipment and poor supply of medical and surgical supplies. Click here to learn more or donate.

 
Dr. Monze Namani, Livingstone Hospital's Executive Director and Chuck Haupt, MedShare’s Executive Director in the Western Region, during a site visit to the hospital in July, 2009

To read the latest MedShare news, click here.

After shopping at MedShare’s Medical Team Store, Malini Veerappan and Rewa Choudhary of Palo Alto, CA, spent their summer traveling to Rayavaram, India to host what turned out to be a very successful eye camp. The town does not have access to eye care for its approximately 3,300 residents and the establishment of this clinic would be seminal to the improved health and the lifestyle of the residents in Rayavaram. The camp revealed the dire need for eye care services in Puddhukottai District and they are now working towards transforming the camp site (an ancestral home) into a permanent vision center.

Below is a letter we received from Malini and Rewa talking about their experience:

"On camp day they examined approximately 250 patients, with 33 of them being referred for and receiving free cataract surgeries at Aravind Eye Hospital in Madurai, India. They said that are very fortunate to receive Aravind Eye Hospital’s partnership and hope to continue working with them to establish the vision center.

During the camp, they assessed the effectiveness of our camp and found that the participants gave overwhelming positive responses. Given these positive results, they are now in the process of transforming the ancestral home camp site into a permanent vision center.

They have also identified four recent high school graduates from the community who are from economically disadvantaged families and encouraged them to apply for training at the Aravind Eye Hospital as technicians. These women would not have had an opportunity to gain a degree otherwise. After the completion of training in two years, they will be salaried health technicians permanently staffing the developing Sathi Vision Center.

We were very inspired by all of the support that we have received (from MedShare) and hope that you will choose to remain a part of this initiative. Thank you for your immense contributions! We couldn't have done it without MedShare's support- and I really mean that!"

Patients being treated at the eye clinic

To learn more about MedShare's Medical Team Store, click here.