Project C.U.R.E.: delivering health, hope and medical products to the world

Healthcare Purchasing News, June, 2003 by W. Douglas Jackson

Suture kits. Hypodermic needles. Sterile surgical gloves. Even hospital beds. To medical specialists in the United States, these are the basic tools needed to treat the sick and wounded. But in most Third World nations, where more than one billion people live on less than $1.10 per day, supplies like these are a luxury.

In my role as president and CEO of Project C.U.R.E. (Commission on Urgent Relief and Equipment) I've seen dire conditions that few Americans could fathom. For example, In Africa, where HIV infection is running rampant, medical workers are often forced to re-use needles after boiling them over an open flame. In one Mexican hospital, doctors lack sufficient casting material to bind broken bones. Amputation is offered as an alternative. In a maternity ward in Vietnam, three women share a single bed.

On a visit to Brazil in 1987, my father, James Jackson, toured a local clinic in desperate need of supplies, and knew some-thing had to be done. When he returned to Denver he called upon friends and former colleagues, who donated $250,000 worth of medical supplies and equipment - which he stored in his garage - and personally paid for them to be shipped back to that Brazilian clinic.

Today, Project C.U.R.E. is the world's largest supplier of donated medical supplies and equipment to developing nations. Over the years, the organization has served nearly 90 countries, delivering tens of millions of dollars in supplies annually - including more than one million sterile needles and syringes donated in 2002 alone. On average, Project C.U.R.E. delivers two semi-truck-sized cargo shipments each week to Third World nations.

To best understand how Project C.U.R.E. works, allow me to take you through the process.

Determining the need

The health shortages facing the developing world can be overwhelming. However, it is never appropriate to simply launch a load of medical relief without an understanding of the specific needs of the region. To address that concern, Project C.U.R.E. adheres to a strict requirement for a Needs Assessment at the outset of every project.

During the Needs Assessment, a Project C.U.R.E. staff member travels to each site, walks the hallways of the hospital, talks to the nurses and meets with doctors and government officials. Customs arrangements are made and a specific inventory is assembled for each recipient partner. Project CURE. will not deliver to nations where government regulations threaten the safe arrival of cargo. In fact, no Project C.U.R.E. shipment has ever been confiscated or lost to the black market.

U.S. organizations donate millions

In the United States, manufacturers, wholesale suppliers, hospitals and clinics donate millions of medical-related items worth tens of millions of dollars to Project C.U.R.E. every year. These donations range from suture kits and syringes to hospital beds and X-ray machines. The C.U.R.E. Corps, a team of more than 6,500 volunteers, sort and inventory the supplies into 150 specific categories - from patient care to major surgery and anesthesia.

Project C.U.R.E. is a 501(c)(3) company, and the donations of medical supplies and equipment are tax deductible. Special provisions of the tax code may allow manufacturers and suppliers to receive additional tax benefits (see sidebar).

In many cases, the motivation for donating to Project C.U.R.E. is simply a lack of warehouse space. Given the cost pressures that impact materials managers nationwide, no one can afford to stockpile supplies and equipment that may never be used. By dispatching large cargo trucks to the donor's facility to retrieve the items as soon as possible, Project C.U.R.E. can save thousands of dollars for the donor organization. In many cases, the cost savings and tax incentives allow the donating organizations to transport large donations to Project C.U.R.E. and still save money. For smaller loads in Project C.U.R.E. cities, teams of volunteer "C.U.R.E. Couriers" use SUVs and minivans to collect donated supplies.

When the materials are sorted, boxed and labeled, they are transported to a Project C.U.R.E. distribution warehouse.

The equipment is tested by technicians and prepared for shipment. Following approval of the inventory, a 40-foot oceangoing cargo container is loaded by volunteers and transported to a port city where it is hoisted aboard a cargo ship and delivered to needy people in the developing nations.

Currently, Project C.U.R.E. operates more than 275,000-square feet of collection centers and distribution warehouses in Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Nashville and Phoenix. Following a diligent study, Project C.U.R.E. identified additional locations and plans to add 20 new distribution facilities across the country by 2010. In addition, Project C.U.R.E. has opened a collection and distribution center in the United Kingdom.

Farming the right strategic partnerships

As a non-profit on a shoestring budget (our administrative and fundraising costs are less than 1.8 percent of the total program expense), we need to rely on the gracious support of many types of organizations.