Surplus Hospital Equipment goes International for Reuse

When imagining a hospital, one may visualize an emergency room, crowded with patients waiting in chairs, and receptionists fingering through medical files behind desks or in filing cabinets. However, this is not necessarily the case for hospitals in developing countries. Global Links Deputy Director Angela Garcia says the kinds of equipment that the old Children's Hospital in Oakland have in surplus, like waiting room chairs, filing cabinets, and desks, are sometimes limited or nonexistent in hospitals in countries like Bolivia, Guatemala, Honduras and other developing countries. She expects between 25 to 30 truckloads of this basic but essential equipment to be refurbished and sent to places where it is needed.