Medical Equipment Donor Spotlight: Hancock County Medical System— Britt, Iowa

Hancock County Memorial Hospital

In April of 2022, GHM was scheduled to make a medical equipment pick up at a hospital in Iowa Falls, IA. Because there was still room on the truck, the hospital sent a message to other medical centers in their network. Curt Gast, Facilities Director at Hancock County Health System in Britt, Iowa, jumped at the chance to participate in the donation process. Since that time, Curt has regularly reached out to GHM with extra equipment that is still functioning but no longer needed. In June, HCHS gave its largest donation thus far: two exam tables, 1 PT table, 1 Blood Draw Chair and 24 Phillips Patient Monitors with extra cuffs.

For CEO, Laura Zwiefel, the decision to partner with GHM is an easy one. “Our mission is to help communities and families achieve better health here and around the world. Our county board would much rather see these items utilized by others who need them instead of being discarded in our landfill.” With a normal budget process to replace equipment because of its age or system turnover, the partnership with GHM has been a win-win. Both Laura and Curt encourage other health systems and medical facilities to consider sharing surplus supplies and retired equipment with GHM. About the process, Curt shared, “GHM makes it very easy to participate. It is just one phone call whenever there are items we could donate to see if they are needed.”

Learn more about GHM’s most needed items at www.ghm.org/always-needed and join our work!