EMBRACE Foundation is a 501(c)(3) founded in 2018 in Newport News, Va. Its founder, Shannon Bednarova, Director of Marketing and Community Outreach at Orthopaedic & Spine Center (OSC), wanted to recycle or repurpose gently used Durable Medical Equipment (DME) after it had served its initial purpose. Walkers, crutches, splints, braces, and wheelchairs prescribed to patients are often returned to OSC when they are no longer needed but used DME can’t be resold or easily donated due to liability issues and health regulations in the United States. Shannon saw this as wasteful and costly to everyone. She created a way for patients to benefit from these often expensive pieces of equipment typically temporarily needed.
EMBRACE Foundation partnered with Samaritan’s Purse and its Worldwide Medical Mission arm. Samaritan’s Purse Worldwide Medical Mission (SPWMM) sends Christian physicians and nurses to remote and medically underserved parts of the world to provide medical care and partners with approximately 50 hospitals worldwide to provide donated medical supplies and equipment to the neediest of patients.
Since then, EMBRACE Foundation has steadily grown. In addition to OSC patient donations, the local organization partners with medical groups, such as Reach Orthotics and Dominion Physical Therapy, and private organizations, like 1st Advantage Credit Union, which held a donation drive for their members over several months. Habitat for Humanity ReStore has become a weekly donation pick-up source and refers individuals who wish to donate used DME, such as hospital beds. Norfolk’s Tycon Medical has also become a valued partner. EMBRACE Foundation invites any corporate office, church, or civic organization to participate in this effort.
EMBRACE Foundation will provide a donation box and brochures for any provider or ancillary office that wishes to participate. It will pick up items within Hampton Roads whenever the container is full. Your patients can drop their gently used, clean DME items off for pick-up at any designated partner location or OSC, located at 250 Nat Turner Blvd., Newport News, Va.
All items are stored and cataloged. Samaritan’s Purse collects donations on trucks and trailers from North Wilkesboro, N.C., where Embrace Foundation volunteers help load the items on the trucks.
Once at Samaritan’s Purse, items are again cataloged and checked for any expiration dates, liquids, or anything that could cause international container shipping and customs problems. The donated equipment is sent to partner hospitals around the world. Items have gone as far as the Congo, Honduras and Bangladesh.
“My hope,” explains Shannon, “is that the entire medical community will get involved and encourage their patients to donate. This is about getting a walker to a person who may have been housebound or leaning on a stick for support. What a difference we can make together!” ♠
For more information on EMBRACE Foundation, to donate or volunteer, visit embrace-foundation.org, our Facebook page, or call Shannon Bednarova at 757-596-1444, ext. 368.
