Old beds donated to Sri Lankan hospitals

Tuesday 21 March 2017

Uniting AgeWell is donating hundreds of pieces of aged care equipment and other medical items to hospitals in Sri Lanka in a joint project with the Lions Club.

The equipment is no longer used by the organisation and has been in storage at its former aged care facilities in Hawthorn – which are about to be demolished to make way for a new residential facility and retirement living complex.

Uniting AgeWell Facility Services Project Administration Officer, Rebekah Lamb, said the organisation did not want the items to go to waste so teamed up with the Wheelers Hill Lions Club to find a suitable new home for them. 

“The Club kindly offered to take the equipment and is now raising money to pay for shipping containers to transport them to Sri Lanka,” she said. 
“While the items are no longer suitable for our facilities, with the help of people on the ground in Sri Lanka they can be reused and installed in hospitals that desperately need better equipment.” 

Rebekah said the organisation took its values of Stewardship and Partnership seriously.   

“It is important we manage our assets and resources wisely and ethically, practicing environmental sustainability wherever possible,” she said. 

“We’re partnering with the Lions Club to ensure disused beds and equipment that would otherwise be thrown away can be reused in developing countries.”

Wheelers Hill Lions Club President, Daya Fernando, said the Lions Club had been collecting hospital equipment and sending them to government hospitals in Sri Lanka for the last 12 years. 

“This is one of our signature projects as there is a need there and we’re doing everything we can here to help fill that need,” he said. 

“Over the years, we have delivered more than 4,000 beds to government hospitals across Sri Lanka.

“We’re also facilitating the refurbishment and installation of a catheter lab and donating ICU (Intensive Care Unit) equipment valued at $1.3 million.”

The Lions Club has a range of fundraising activities, from sausage sizzles, curry and Bollywood nights to help raise money for the cause.

For more information on how to support the project, please contact Facilities Services Project Administration Officer, Rebekah Lamb on 9815 6900. 

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