Notes of Hope

MB's new Operations Manager - Scott Villwock

2011-08-05T09:40:00.000-07:00

Scott Villwock recently joined our team as Operations Manager.

Scott comes to Medical Bridges with 20 plus years experience in Logistics and Warehouse management. He has six years military experience specializing in Logisitics. Scott has worked in such industries as household goods, food, beverage, corrugated, and steel.

Originally from Cleveland, Ohio Scott lives in Kingwood with his wife and four children.

Outside of Medical Bridges, Scott enjoys golf, hunting, and movies.

Welcome Scott!

Meet Babcock University

2011-07-18T09:12:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share feedback we received from Babcock University in Nigeria. We are working with them to ship several containers during 2011.

Babcock University is a private Christian co-educational Nigerian University located between Igadan & Lagos.

Isaac Osuntade from Babcock University provided wonderful pictures from a recent container unloading.

You can see the students unloading 1 of 2 containers we shipped.

These are just a few of the medical equipment & supplies to be used in the new medical school

Thanks to our donors and volunteers were are able to connect those who have with those who hope.

2011 Gala Kickoff Press Coverage

2011-07-01T12:06:00.000-07:00

This year's Gala Kickoff was held at Saks Fifth Avenue in the shoe department. It was a huge success with more than 100 guests attending to support our mission.

If you were unable to attend, no worries! Click the links below to see pictures from the event.

PaperCity Magazine

http://www.papercitymag.com/Parties/Archives/3592/2011-Medical-Bridges-Kick-Off/

Chron.com

http://blog.chron.com/socialclimbing/2011/06/medical-bridges-supporters-gear-up-for-one-people-one-world-gala/

2011 Gala Kickoff Reception

2011-05-18T13:42:00.000-07:00

Medical Bridges, Inc. invites you to attend the One People One World Gala Kickoff Reception

When: June 15, 2011

6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Where: Saks Fifth Avenue-Houston Galleria

Light bites and wine will be served. Business attire.

RSVP to rsvp@franciscoandco.com or 713-850-2116

4th Annual Volunteer Service Awards

2011-04-04T14:45:00.000-07:00

SAVE THE DATE!

The 4th Annual Volunteer Service Awards Dinner will be Thursday May 12, 2011 @ 6:30 p.m. The Cohen House at Rice University will host the event again this year.

Individual tickets are $60

Tables for 6 are $500

Tables for 8 are $750, $1,500, & $3,000

Please contact Kourtnei Ramirez, Special Projects Coordinator for more information @ 713-748-8131 ext. 205 or kourtnei.ramirez@medicalbridges.org

Think you're the BEST 3 pointer Shooter? Prove It!

2011-03-22T14:49:00.000-07:00

The Weekley Famiky YMCA, West U Rotary Club, West U Methodist Church, and Caring Friends Inc. are hosting a fundraiser to benefit Medical Bridges & the YMCA After School program.

2 Locations to choose from:

Saturday March 26th @ West U Methodist Church

1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Sunday March 27th @ Weekley Family YMCA

2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

The registration fee is only $20!

Pre Register @ www.westumethodist.org/missions

ATTENTION-Disaster Relief for Japan

2011-03-14T09:40:00.000-07:00

Medical Bridges sends its heartfelt condolences to the people of Japan. Medical Bridges is not a first responder; however once a team or organization knows what is needed and what is allowed into the country. Medical Bridges stands ready and prepared to assist in any way it can.

Volunteers pack supplies to help the homeless

2011-03-10T09:52:00.000-08:00

Medical Bridges' volunteers packed mini personal hygiene kits to donate to Houston's homeless men and women. Last Wednesday, HPD Officers from the Homeless Outreach Team picked up and distributed the kits as well as other supplies.

Navasota United Methodist Church members packed the mini personal hygiene kits

The kits are boxed and ready to go!

HPD Homeless Outreach Mobile Van

Thank you to our Volunteers! You are truly the heart of our mission.

Real 4 Christ hosts a clinic day in Masai Corner, Kenya

2011-01-06T12:22:00.001-08:00

Real 4 Christ Ministries, our mission partner shared their recent experience in Kenya.

On December 23, 2010 we packed our truck with the medical supplies and tools that were donated by Medical Bridges and drove a couple hours into the remote village of Masai Corner located on the coast of Kenya, East Africa. There is no medical clinic or hospital within a 3 hour walk for the people who live at Masai Corner so as we began our clinic set up, I was so thankful to have the blood pressure monitor, stethoscopes, otoscopes, & thermometers to make our clinic day a success. We saw over 70 people that day and many of them received treatments as a result of being able to properly access their conditions. Real 4 Christ Ministries sincerely appreciates you partnering with us to experience making a difference in the lives of the Kenyan people.

God Bless You in the New Year,
Lisa Moore
Missionary Nurse to Kenya, East Africa

Want to find out how YOU can support these missions?
Visit http://www.medicalbridges.org/

TGD's Resource Center is up & running!

2010-09-22T14:33:00.000-07:00

Hi, I wanted to share some good news. Our mission partner Trinity Global Development sent a 40 ft container of supplies to their new Community Resource Center in Kenya. The container was recently delivered and the residents could not be happier.

Check out the pics TGD sent.

Mission to Zambia

2010-07-29T09:33:00.000-07:00

Hey! Last week we supplied a hand-carried mission to Zambia. The mission group was from Northrise University Initiative which is an organization dedicated to providing financial, medical, and other assistance to the people of Zambia. The supplies were mostly for pediatric care and were sent to the Arthur Davidson Children's Hospital in Ndola, Zambia. The group was amazed at how much they were able to bring with them. The supplies arrived safely and are already being used.

A photo of the group with some of the supplies they brought was given to us, and here it is:

Medsurplus 5th Annual Conference

2010-07-29T09:03:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! Just writing to tell you guys about the 5th annual MedSurplus conference. It will be held at the Hilton Post Oak Hotel (link here). Make sure you enter the code MSN so you can get the special rate of $119/night for the conference.

The conference will have speakers that will talk on a variety of subjects, from Social Media/Branding to the legal aspects of shipping our products. There will also be a panel to discuss Haiti relief and recovery efforts. You will also get the wonderful opportunity to tour the Texas Medical Center. This will include visiting the trauma center at Memorial Hermann.

Make sure to register here!

Patrick

Some Wonderful Feedback!

2010-07-14T09:44:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Just updating the blog again to let you know about some great feedback we heard from Mr. Mariano Montilla of the Philippines. He recently stopped by the office to visit and give us some feedback on a container they received. His feedback included a beautiful photo album, documenting receipt and use of the medical equipment and supplies donated by Medical Bridges.

They also presented us with a copy of the official resolution letter from the local government (Office of the Sanggunuang Panlalawigan) expressing "heart-felt thanks and appreciation to Medical Bridges for the donation of medical supplies and equipment to the Provincial Hospital of Agusan el Norte".

Lastly they presented us with the actual banner, signed by the staff of the hospital, that was flown the day the container was unloaded. Mr. Montilla is currently working on another order!

I'll keep you guys updated if we get any more news!

Patrick

A Special Thanks

2010-07-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

The staff of Medical Bridges recently welcomed Dr. Masood Hammed of Dow University of Health Sciences (Karachi, Pakistan) and Dr. Aijaz Hussain of Houston. Dr. Masood extended to Medical Bridges his heart-felt appreciation for the donation of much needed medical supplies for Pakistan. Dr. Masood presented Medical Bridges with a beautiful photo album showing how the material donated by Medical Bridges was used in their new facility in Pakistan. He has expressed interest in further working with Medical Bridges.

A changing of hands

2010-07-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! This is Patrick. This post is just to let you guys know that the blog is changing authors. Roze has left Medical Bridges to pursue other personal interests and all of us at the office wish her well in her future endeavors!

We have not found a full time replacement yet so in the interim I will be the one updating the blog. We will continue to keep you updated with what's going on here and we should have more information coming soon.

Thanks!

Patrick

Ed's Song

2010-07-07T08:57:00.000-07:00

Hi!

One of our regular volunteers, Ed Kinsey, has written a song specifically for Medical Bridges! It's a fun, musical adaption of what we're all about.

A little background on Mr. Ed Kinsey...Ed has been a very valuable volunter at Medical Bridges. He has been honored several times for his commitment to our mission. He regularly comes in on Saturdays and is often seeing around the office during the workweek. Two years in a row, he's put in more than 700 hours a year making him a President's Volunteer Service Awards Gold recipient. Ed's been a valued volunteer since retiring as a police officer.

Here's the music video:

In case you missed some lyrics, here they are:

Medical Bridges is the place for me

counting catheters is fun you see

Under pads and diapers still make me smile

If suction drainage is your thing

we have ehough cannisters to make you sing

and suction tubing that will stretch a mile

From IV connectors to hospital beds to O.B. supplies, covers for your head

We send our stuff all over the world

Surgical basins and O.R. packs, blood collection tubes and pipette racks.

We have urine collectors for a boy or a girl.

If you're on a mission, going out of town.

Give Norm a call, he won't let you down.

Hand carry trips are his speciality.

He has exam gloves of every size.

He even has splash guards for your eyes

and guaze sponges for your wound dressing needs

From hospital gowns to specimen cups

Endoscopic and O.R. set ups; Tongue depressors and bedpans too

Medical Bridges is devoted to you

We want to help the world out too.

Together we can make a difference just me and you

A special thanks

2010-07-01T08:53:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Recently we welcomed some very special volunteers from Gateway Academy in Houston, Texas. Shortly after their volunteer session, we received these thank you letters from a few of the children who had visited. We enjoyed them so much here at the office that I thought I'd share them with you.

(I transcribed each of the letters at the bottom of each letter.)

Enjoy. :)

Dear Medical Bridges,

Thank you allowing us to come help the community at Medical Bridges. I like to sort medical things. I like meeting people there. I like riding in a car to Medical Bridges. I learned to put things where they go.

Thanks again!

Dear Medical Bridges

Thank you for letting us come to Medical Bridges

I like to sort things and put them back where they were

I like drinking water at Medical Bridges

I like washing my hands at the end of sorting things

I learned how to put on my gloves

Dear Medical Bridges

Thank you for having us come sort medical supplies. I enjoyed coming in a working very hard I also enjoyed you talking about what you do I learned that they ship other medicens to other countries thats very interesting.

Thank you

Monica

Sagemont Church

2010-06-30T07:16:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Our friends at Sagemont Church gave a shout out to Medical Bridges in their June 2010 Sagemont Life issue.

Sagemont has been very loyal volunteers in our sort room. They have often come in at short notice to help sort medical supplies and schedule regular volunteer sessions every month. As a result of their dedication, we have twice awarded Sagemont as our volunteer group of the year.

If you have trouble reading the scanned text, please visit our website and read the full article.

Roze

Just a couple of things we've been working on....

2010-06-29T12:04:00.000-07:00

Hello!

The staff here at Medical Bridges have been hard at work trying to do as much as possible to save precious medical supplies and equipment from local landfills and instead send them to people who desperately need them. Although it's barely the end of June, we've already sent 47 hand carried shipments and 17 forty-foot containers. The total replacement value of the 17 containers alone is over one million dollars!

But wait, there's more...

We have many more shipments in the works and hope that 2010 should be one of the most productive years in Medical Bridges' history. This year has been exciting in the office because we have made more multiple container deals than ever. Last year, we made our historic first multiple container deal to ship several containers to different countries on behalf of AEI. Now, less than six months later, we have officially signed another multiple container contract to be one of the main suppliers of a hospital in Nigeria on behalf of Dr. Ulu.

And let me tell you about our friend Dr. Ulu. He's an amazing man that has made it his own personal mission to build a small clinic in Nigeria. But, not only did he build an amazing hospital in a medically under served area, he also has dedicated several weeks of his year to personally go over there and work in the hospital. He already has a 10 container deal that will help keep his clinic supplied this year, and is preparing to sign another 10 container deal that will ensure supplies all the way till mid-2012.

Of course, Dr. Ulu is not our only friend that does great things. We also have projects coming along under the direction of our savvy business development manager Steve who has told me that he is in talks with a medical student who wants supplies to take with her while she works abroad for a semester. She is a student at Baylor College of Medicine and hopes to work in Ecuador at a hospice as well as two separate clinics. I'll keep you posted and let you know if this works out. Fingers crossed!

Also, Steve finally said goodbye to a shipment headed to Senegal. This shipment hit many bumps in the road before it was able to leave our warehouse. Fortunately, the shipment is finally destined for a children's hospital in a rural village that is on the same compound as a home for children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. This compound also has a school attached. The hospital is used by the children who live on the compound as well as other children from the surrounding area. Steve hopes that he can arrange a multiple container deal with doctors at the hospital in order to keep the hospital viable to the community.

Maybe you remember from the news a couple of weeks back when Tropical Storm Agatha reeked havoc on Central America. Sink holes ate up entire communities and more than 145 people are reported dead. One of the hardest hit countries was Guatemala, with more than 120 people dead and another 40 missing. Agape in Action, a group that Medical Bridges regularly supplies for its missions across Central and South America, had just finished a mission in Guatemala but after hearing about the devastation, headed straight back to Guatemala to do what they could. Medical Bridges was happy to provide them with emergency medical supplies to aid in the mission. (Read more about the devastation left by Tropical Storm Agatha here).

I'll have more information coming to you soon.

Take care,

Roze

Lynn Ripplemeyer

2010-06-24T07:24:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Here's that video that I promised. It's a short video interview featuring missionary and Continental Airlines Captain Lynn Ripplemeyer. Lynn talks about her experiences working with Medical Bridges to bring medical supplies to villages in Honduras.

Welcome!

2010-06-23T10:27:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Medical Bridges' new blog!

Medical Bridges is in the process of revamping its image on social networking sites and finding new and creative ways to keep all our friends informed of what's going on inside our warehouse and in the office. So what can you expect to see here? Well, anything! This will be the first go-to place for new and exciting up-to-the-minute news on Medical Bridges happenings. So, if you want to know everything about us, become a follower, subscribe to email alerts or make us a favorite using your browser controls. And of course...leave comments! We would love to hear what your thoughts are and will definitely appreciate any feedback.

In the immediate future you can expect a video interview from one of our friends, Lynn Ripplemeyer. She transports medical supplies to a small hospital in Honduras while traveling for work. She's a fabulous example of how doing a little can make a big impact on the world. I will post the video in a following posting, so take a minute and learn more about Lynn's travels.

And who am I? Well, my name is Roze and I am the one that will be managing Medical Bridges' online presence. It's a huge and daunting task but someone needs to do it! I'm up for the challenge. If you have any comments, thoughts or just want to say hello please feel free to leave a comment on here, or on our facebook page, or shoot me an email (roze.mota@medicalbridges.org).

I hope to pull some of my co-workers into posting as well. I'll leave it to them to introduce themselves as they begin their posts, otherwise assume that you're hearing from me. :)

That's enough from me for the moment. Take care!

Roze

Notes of Hope

MB's new Operations Manager - Scott Villwock

Meet Babcock University

2011 Gala Kickoff Press Coverage

2011 Gala Kickoff Reception

4th Annual Volunteer Service Awards

Think you're the BEST 3 pointer Shooter? Prove It!

**ATTENTION-Disaster Relief for Japan**

Volunteers pack supplies to help the homeless

Real 4 Christ hosts a clinic day in Masai Corner, Kenya

TGD's Resource Center is up & running!

Mission to Zambia

Medsurplus 5th Annual Conference

Some Wonderful Feedback!

A Special Thanks

A changing of hands

Ed's Song

A special thanks

Sagemont Church

Just a couple of things we've been working on....

Lynn Ripplemeyer

Welcome!

ATTENTION-Disaster Relief for Japan