History
Founded in 1995, IMEC started in the garage of now IMEC's President, Thomas Keefe. A former hospital administrator, Tom Keefe collected surplus medical equipment caused by hospitals closing, downsizing and eliminating entire services. With the help of humanitarian organizations, this acquired surplus was channeled to developing countries worldwide. Sustained mostly by volunteers, IMEC has grown extensively over the years refurbishing medical equipment and shipping worldwide.
"Between October 1996 and October 1997, IMEC brought about $1.6 million worth of equipment into its 30,000-square-foot (2,800 m2) warehouse, which used to be a giant machine shop. It also relied on 10,000 hours of volunteer time from individuals and organizations such as churches and service groups."
In 2004, IMEC introduced the Center of Health Initiative where IMEC would work with shepherding organizations to identify an empty hospital and retrofit it with basic health care services. By using surplus equipment from hospitals and clinics in the United States, IMEC is able to keep costs low while still providing the equipment needed. IMEC collaborates with the shepherding organization to ensure customs papers for a country are properly completed, as well as securing an offloading procedure in the destination country.
"IMEC's Centers of Health Initiative provides developing nations with a replicable, integrated model for sustaining medical care and health education that is efficient and economical. These centers stabilize existing services, expand the range of services, improve access to health care, and advance the health status of the population over time."
IMEC moved from several small storage facilities to a 150,000-square-foot (14,000 m2) warehouse in North Andover Massachusetts in 2007 where they are currently located. The warehouse serves as the collection, refurbishing and distribution center for IMEC. IMEC currently ships 75 containers to 75 countries yearly through numerous shepherding organizations.
IMEC has been consistently nominated for the "Gates Award for Global Health" given by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Additionally, recently, IMEC received the 2010 Amoud Foundation Annual Achievement Award (AAA).
Read more about this topic: International Medical Equipment Collaborative (IMEC)
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