STERIS working side by side with Médecins Sans Frontières
In addition to being a leading player in healthcare, STERIS is a socially responsible company. As a result, it could not sit idly by after Haiti was struck by a massive earthquake. STERIS provided material support by donating an SSM 80 surgical table to the French charity Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) for use by its field volunteers.
This so-called “field” table is particularly suited to poor conditions and accommodates the main types of emergency surgery, making it the ideal tool for mobile teams. A number of factors -- the fact that MSF’s two hospitals in Haiti were destroyed by the earthquake, the risk of aftershocks, the victims are dispersed throughout the country and are reticent to receive care in permanent buildings -- has made mobile medical units (mobile clinics, inflatable hospitals, etc.) necessary.
“Donating is good. However, donating equipment that is truly suited to the circumstances is better. STERIS’ generosity has enabled us to perform operations on victims of the earthquake and thus save many lives,” emphasises Bruno Delouche, assistant director of Médecins Sans Frontières Logistique.
In the days following the disaster, MSF’s teams treated over 3,000 injured people and operated on an average of 130 patients each day.