African hospital receives Charleston area donations

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Extra supplies from MUSC and some donated items from Roper Hospital left the Lowcountry in a shipping container in May and reached a hospital in need in Africa this week.

Mercy Hospital staff and volunteers in Sierra Leone unpacked the 40-foot container full of medical supplies. MUSC shipped everything from gloves and masks to heart monitors and sterilization equipment in partnership with the non-profit Helping Children Worldwide.

According to MUSC, the supplies were sitting in a warehouse. Most items are simply older models and out of date by U.S standards, but now the items have a new home and new life in a hospital that desperately needed the equipment.

Doctors and volunteers who helped pack the shipping container say during visits to Sierra Leone, they witnessed Mercy Hospital staff using phone flashlights during surgery and boiling tools to sterilize them. Now, the hospital will have lights and sterilization equipment that otherwise would have been sitting unused in South Carolina.

READ MORE: Charleston hospitals donate surplus equipment to a country in need

Mary Ann Gilkerson and her husband, MUSC Dr. Gary Gilkerson, were instrumental in the project. Mary Ann Gilkerson personally oversaw the packing and has been looking forward to its arrival.

In an email, she shared her thanks and excitement to see the equipment make it safely and be put to use.

“So thankful it has arrived and it looks just like it did when the doors were closed on May 24th at the MUSC Warehouse!!!,” Gilkerson said. “I hope to get more photos and will share with you!! Special THANKS to ALL who helped make this happen!!! You have the most incredible compassionate hearts!!!”

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