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Mission
Founded in 1989, Global Links is a medical relief and development organization dedicated to a two-fold mission of environmental stewardship and improving health in developing countries. Global Links collaborates with U.S. hospitals to redirect still useful materials away from the waste stream to public health improvement efforts in targeted countries throughout the hemisphere.
Global Links achieves this mission by:
1. Focusing on Recovery from Hospitals - Global Links recovers over 100 tons of medical materials a year that otherwise would have ended up in landfills or incinerators.
2. Building Close Relationships to Ensure Greatest Impact – Global Links has cultivated long-term relationships with the World Health Organization as well as ministries of health and hospitals and clinics in Bolivia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Honduras, Guatemala, Guyana, Jamaica and Nicaragua.
3. Involving the Pittsburgh Community – Global Links receives donations of medical supplies from all of the major hospitals in the Pittsburgh area. Our organization has also developed a vibrant and growing volunteer program, with 1,541 volunteers serving more than 6,000 hours in 2007.
Global Links programs include:
• Country Programs – Recipient institutions in our nine focus countries receive 40-foot sea containers of carefully selected medical supplies chosen to meet their specific needs.
• Suture Donation Program – Recipient hospitals around the world receive an annual allotment of suture, a critical medical supply that is all too often lacking in hospitals. We are the only recovery organization with a dedicated suture program in the United States.
• Mission/Service Trip Programs - Global Links fulfills requests for medical supplies from individuals, organizations or institutions in the Pittsburgh area who travel to developing countries to provide medical assistance. We support 40-50 such trips every year.
Key Facts
Geographic areas served:
Global Links partners with clinics and hospitals in nine countries across Latin America and the Caribbean: Bolivia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Honduras, Guatemala, Guyana, Jamaica and Nicaragua. Global Links also serves the greater Pittsburgh community by recovering unused medical supplies from all of our cities’ major hospitals.
Target demographics:
Underserved communities in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Results to date:
Since its inception in 1989, Global Links has collected over 3,000 tons of medical supplies and donated over $155 million worth of goods to clinics in 70 countries.
Direct beneficiaries per year: Thousands of patients attended with better medical materials donated by Global Links.
Obstacles:
Despite our growing impact, infinite needs for medical supplies still exist in developing countries around the world.
Your donation of $75 enables us to:
deliver a life-saving nebulizer for asthma treatment.
Your donation of $100 enables us to:
deliver a case of ten refurbished blood pressure units.
Your donation of $500 enables us to:
deliver a fetal Doppler to monitor tiny hearts.
Board Members and Affiliation:
Margaret Larkins-Pettigrew, M.D., M.Ed.,Chair – University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Jeffrey Ford, C.P.A., Vice Chair – Grossman, Yanak & Ford
Charles Vargo, Treasurer – The Washington Physician Hospital Organization, Inc.
Dan Drawbaugh – University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Mimi Falbo, R.N., M.S.N. – Mimi Falbo LLC
Joy Gaetano – Mylan Laboratories
Kathleen Hower – Global Links
Eugene Lauer, S.T.D. - National Pastoral Life Center
Miguel Marquez, M.D. – Pan American Health Organization
Patricia Rambasek, CFRE - Community Leader
Robin Sheldon – Thomas Jefferson University
Barry Silverman – Technology Consultant
Daniel Wagner, R.Ph., MBA, Pharm D. – Nutri-Farmacy
Jeff Wilkinson, M.D. – Duke University Medical Center
Past and Current Funders:
The Atlantic Philanthropies
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
GlaxoSmithKline
The International Foundation
Pan American Health Organization
The Pittsburgh Foundation
Key Staff
Kathleen Hower, Executive Director and Co-Founder
Angela Garcia, Deputy Director
Amy Janocha, Development Officer
Jennifer Novelli, Volunteer Program Coordinator
Hayley Doering, Hospital Liaison/Volunteer Supervisor
Ellen Wilson, Suture Donation Program Manager
Andrea Arkin, Program Officer for Caribbean Region
Patti Skillin, Program Officer for South and Central America