Our History

“Recovering medical equipment for the developing world” (Remedy) at UCSF provides essential medical supplies to communities in underserved areas by recovering unused surplus at UCSF. We recover, sort, and deliver invaluable medical equipment that would otherwise be discarded due to regulatory requirements or procedural excess. Donated goods go to identified healthcare facilities in underserved communities based on the request of recipient institutions. Medical students at UCSF started this initiative in 2004 and have since supplied clinics in over 20 countries with vital medical equipment. By seeking collaborations with various departments in the university and conducting outreach, UCSF Remedy has become a recognized campus community organization in the past several years, collecting and donating thousands of dollars of otherwise recyclable, reusable medical supplies for the developing world.

Welcome…and how to get involved!

Who are we? What do we do?

Remedy at UCSF is a student-run, faculty-supervised organization dedicated to actively promoting the recovery of unused medical supplies and medicines for the purpose of global aid, waste reduction, and cost-effectiveness.

A Growing List of Projects

During the past three years, a number of critical projects have been spearheaded by members of Remedy at UCSF. Interested in helping out? Please check out our meetings, and peruse the list of Remedy efforts below. Feel free to contact us with any questions on how to assist or possibly donate.

-Supply Bins in the UCSF Moffit-Long Hospital
-Local Community Partnerships
-UCSF-Affiliated Community Partnerships Across the Globe
-Local and Regional Supply Drives
-Collection of AIDS Meds for International Clinics

How to Get Involved

There are many ways to get involved in Remedy at UCSF. See our list of projects and contact us to help out!

For those interested in starting their own Remedy chapters or Remedy-like organizations, there are a variety of resources available. Here are some words of wisdom from students at the Columbia Univeristy College of Physicians and Surgeons where one of the first student-run Remedy organizations was started:

“...getting the support of a faculty member is always helpful...we get most supplies overseas through hospital employees returning to their home countries in need or medical students going abroad to under-resourced countries. I think the biggest problem we had was securing a source to collect all unused supplies from the OR’s. We set up bins in OR corridors where the circulating and scrub nurses can put unused supplies in. Of course, all of thise material has to be sterilized. At our hospital, we had to be certified to handle this but the administration was supportive enough to allow us to use their equipment for sterilization...We got our supplies mostly from the OR’s...mostly discarded or expired supplies and we worked closely with the maintenance workers who collect the supplies...”

There are many on-line resources for individuals interested in starting similar efforts. Below are a pair of links to the Remedy national homepage and AMSA with such information:

http://www.remedyinc.org/Content/How_Remedy_Works.asp
http://www.amsa.org/global/ih/mierp.cfm

UCSF encourages the formation of registered campus organizations to promote and provide for the special interests of the UCSF community. However, UCSF does not sponsor or endorse an organization by virtue of registration. © 2008 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.