TriMedx volunteer Todd Poor, accompanied by Dr Adolph, instructs Dolo, Ethiopia, hospital workers on how to use and repair portable C-arm equipment.

Medical equipment and physicians seem to be the first resources people reach for when hoping to aid underdeveloped nations. Yet without people trained to operate and repair vital technology, even the most advanced piece of medical equipment is nothing but a chunk of useless metal. It was with this realization that TriMedx Healthcare Equipment Services (Indianapolis) founded the TriMedx Foundation.

The TriMedx Foundation travels around the world with more than 200 biomedical, radiology, and laboratory-technician volunteers repairing and teaching medical staff in third-world countries how to use, maintain, and repair donated equipment. “Many of the hospitals have received good equipment that can still provide a lot of assistance to the people of these communities, if it is properly set up and maintained,” said Foundation Executive Director Ron Tocco.

The need for such a service became apparent after a nun from a mission hospital in Haiti wrote a letter, which was forwarded to Tocco, asking for help with its x-ray equipment. “We cannot figure out what to do next and have a team of surgeons arriving here next month,” she wrote. “They will not be able to do their work without it. Can you send help, please?”

This simple plea started a movement for technicians to explore the globe. The volunteer technicians have traveled to Cuba, Equador, Bolivia, Guatemala, Mexico, Ethiopia, Malawi, the Ukraine, the Philippines, and Haiti. The foundation now has 5,000 vendors, which provide parts and supplies on an as-needed basis as well as a warehouse to provide goods.

“Anybody who shares our core values and wants to be a part of our mission-support team can do so,” Tocco said. “If there is a biomedical engineer from Omaha, and he’s working in a church in Kenya and he needs help and support, he can contact me and we’ll get involved.” TriMedx also has offered several hospitals to aid the hurricane Katrina relief effort and has sent volunteers into Mobile, Ala. Tocco urges potential TriMedx volunteers to visit the foundation’s Web site at www.trimedxfoundation.com or call them at (866) 855-2580.