Contact:
Elizabeth Blevins, Director, Office of Communications
Office: (740) 351-3810; FAX: (740) 351-3179; Cell: (740) 464-4854
940 Second Street – Portsmouth, Ohio 45662
E-mail: eblevins@shawnee.edu 
Web site: www.shawnee.edu

            Shawnee State University’s Center for International Programs and Activities Director Rita Haider, has been collecting medical supplies for many years and sends them to a country that is underserved and needs them.
            This year, after three years of collecting supplies, Haider sent more than 700 boxes to Haiti. Most of the supplies are new and some are gently used, such as wheelchairs, crutches and IV poles.
            In the United States, it is against the law for medical providers to keep any supplies that are in a room or in a home with a patient, even if it is still in the wrapper. It cannot be used on another patient. So, instead of throwing them away, Haider collects them for underserved countries.
            More than 20 volunteers, many SSU students and employees helped organize and box the supplies to send to Haiti on Saturday, Jan. 30. Most of the supplies came from Southern Ohio Medical Center, Pike County Hospital, local doctors’ offices and home care patients. The Masonic Temple donates the space as items are collected until there is enough to send abroad. A hospital in Haiti received the supplies.