Students search for 'Remedy'

Acknowledging that "our trash is actually someone's life-saving equipment," a new group of University students hopes to route unused medical supplies from the trash bins of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania to developing countries desperately in need of equipment. Forty students formed the "Remedy" group last September, and asked the University for permission to clean and donate the supplies. But the Medical School -- worried about possible liability issues -- has temporarily put a final decision on the program "on hold." Remedy and the school, however, are working together to resolve the issues and allow the program to proceed. Remedy Coordinator Andrew Krakowski, a post-baccalaureate pre-health student, explained that the program is designed to recover equipment such as unused bandages, sponges, towels, shields and catheters that cannot be used by HUP. The items would then be sterilized and donated to Carelift International, a non-profit organization that sends medical supplies to needy hospitals in developing countries. "We throw out so much medical supplies because of the law, and a good amount of the stuff can be salvaged and resterilized and sent overseas where it can be used," Krakowski said. He explained that when doctors prepare for surgery, they often unwrap more supplies than they need in case extra equipment is needed during the operation. But because the supplies have already been opened, they are thrown out at the end of the procedure regardless of whether or not they have been used. "Basically we're talking about a clean piece of material," said Scott Leshner, director of materials management and biomedical engineering services for Carelift International. Ideally, the supplies would then be put in bags in the operating room, sterilized in HUP's facility and then sorted by Remedy volunteers. Legal issues, however, have prevented the Medical School from agreeing to sponsor the project. "It's a wonderful idea in theory," Medical Center spokesperson Rebecca Harmon said, "But ? we're still evaluating the extent to which we would choose to assume potential liability for the products that are being shipped to various third-world destinations. "To what extent can we guarantee the sterility of a product that may be missing its original outer wrapping?" she added. Krakowski acknowledged that the legal issues merit careful attention by the University. "We have to be patient," he said. "It's a big project, and there are a lot of questions that we need to get answered. "The Penn system is really doing their hardest work to try to get us going," Krakowski added. In preparation for beginning the Remedy program, Krakowski and his volunteers underwent Bloodborne Pathogens Training -- an hour-long session conducted by Bob Leonzio, a specialist in the Office of Environmental Health and Safety. "It's a really exciting program that they're involved with," Leonzio said. "The lack of adequate medical facilities in some of these third-world countries can actually contribute to the spread of disease." And HUP Central Supply and Materials Management Manager George Long has offered to help sterilize the donated equipment. "Each individual item is no longer considered sterile," Long said, explaining that although products can never truly be "re-sterilized," they would nonetheless go through the sterilization process in order to ensure as much cleanliness as possible. Remedy volunteers have begun collecting and donating used medical equipment while waiting for a University decision on the program. Remedy has forwarded to Carelift International old laboratory equipment that is useless to a modern hospital, but considered state-of-the-art in many developing countries. Medical School Building Administrator Diane McAndrews, for example, recently sent approximately $20,000 worth of equipment to a lab in Romania through the Remedy group. And HUP officials recently contacted Carelift International and donated "eight to 10 truckloads" of incubators, gurneys, EKG machines and other supplies to the group. Penn's Remedy program is modeled after a similar program developed by Yale Medical School Professor William Rosenblatt 10 years ago, in spite of the potential liability issues. But in a booklet distributed by Yale's Remedy program, Bowling Green State University Legal Studies Professor Emeritus Russell Decker acknowledged the liability problems. "There is no absolute way that a hospital can avoid the possibility of a claim being made under strict products liability law," he wrote. "However, a rather strong defense can be established by showing that the sale or donation of the item was a 'casual sale'."