On Veterans Day, our Club learned about the medical supply and distribution services provided by Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach from the organization’s Executive Director, Erica Smith. Erica’s presentation highlighted Mission Outreach’s ongoing efforts in the Ukraine.
Mission Outreach, an affiliate of Hospital Sisters Health Systems (HSHS), addresses the unmet medical needs of people in low resource communities around the world by collecting, repairing, packaging and distributing medical supplies and equipment to hospitals and clinics worldwide.
In 2023, Mission Outreach sent 114 shipments of medical supplies and equipment that helped hospitals and clinics with a combined population service area of 28 million people in low-resource areas around the world.
To date, hospitals and clinics in 101 countries have been better able to meet the clinical healthcare demand of their patients after receiving medical supplies and equipment from Mission Outreach.
Erica focused upon Mission Outreach efforts to provide needed medical supplies and equipment to Ukrainian hospitals and clinics.
Mission Outreach has shipped five 40’ containers of requested medical supplies and equipment to urban and rural Ukrainian hospitals and clinics during the Ukrainian war. These items include EKG/ECG units and trauma, surgical, and general medical supplies.
These need medical supplies are valued by the Ukrainian healthcare providers because, not only are they needed, but they are of higher quality to properly diagnose and treat their patients than what can be accessed and obtained because of the war.
Erica recently spent 3 weeks in Ukraine, and the map below shows the areas that received medical equipment and supplies from Hospital Sisters Mission and that she visited on her trip.
Erica highlighted visiting two rural hospitals (images below) that received some of the equipment provided by Mission Outreach. While thankful for the equipment, hospital and community leaders stated still more equipment is needed. These hospitals are struggling to sustain quality healthcare within their communities due to an influx of displaced persons from battle zones and both civilians and soldiers wounded by war.
She finished by articulating to us the following realizations after her interactions with Ukrainian physicians, health care administrators, and other community leaders during her time in the Ukraine:
1. The importance of established relationships are vital in sustaining the health and wellbeing of many, many people in communities throughout the Ukraine;
2. Internal displacement (in some cases homelessness) further stresses already overwhelmed Ukrainian healthcare systems’ ability to provide care within communities;
3. Multiple layers of trauma, including secondary trauma caused by interactions with people who had suffered trauma, are an everyday occurrence being dealt with in Ukrainian communities; and,
4. Traumatized people continue to care for others and that problems caused by the war will go on for a very long time.
Mission Outreach continues to support recovery and rebuild efforts in Ukraine, even as the war continues.
Our Club commends Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach for its continued, impactful efforts to improve health outcomes for individuals and communities in the Ukraine and throughout our world.