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Hospital Employees Donate Time to Mission Outreach in Springfield, Ill.

Seven St. Elizabeth’s Hospital employees made a special volunteer trip to Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach in Springfield, Ill., to sort donated medical supplies that will be distributed worldwide to locations such as Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and 46 other countries.
Dawn Peach, a night shift nurse administrator, thought of the idea for a volunteer day after an educational trip for St. Elizabeth’s managers to Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS) corporate headquarters where she toured Mission Outreach.

“I was overwhelmed by Mission Outreach when I first visited and I thought co-workers would feel the same way once they learned of the organization’s scope,” Peach said. “This was the first of many volunteer days I hope to organize for staff at St. Elizabeth’s. It was extremely rewarding for us personally because we knew just one day of our time could help so many people in so many places”

In 2002, HSHS started Mission Outreach. The goal was to work with healthcare organizations to recover and responsibly redistribute equipment and supplies to people in need around the world. The organization was founded by Bruce Compton who had learned first-hand while working with the Sisters in Haiti how not to send used equipment to poor countries. Often they received countless donations of supplies that were unusable because they either did not fit the needs of the intended area or were inoperable. With no mechanism in place to dispose of unused items, donations often became more hardship than help.

Today, Mission Outreach distributes more than $6 million in surplus equipment and supplies each year, with accountability measures in place to ensure appropriate distribution. While the organization officially incorporated as a separate entity in 2006, its mission clearly continues the tradition that began when the Hospital Sisters came to Illinois from Germany in 1875 to begin their healthcare ministry. Mission Outreach works with the more than 45 hospitals and 18 multi-specialty clinics throughout Illinois and Wisconsin.

Inspired by the work of Mission Outreach, Peach brought the idea of an employee volunteer day to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital’s Mission Integration Committee (MIC). MIC promotes a Christian spirit and service throughout the entire organization. The purpose of the Mission Integration Committee’s activities is to support the religious philosophy of the Hospital Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis whose mission is to witness the healing love of Christ. MIC coordinates and promotes several events throughout the year to benefit the community and employees including clothing drives, food collections, book fairs and more.

Christy Koenigstein, from St. Elizabeth’s Rehabilitation Department, volunteered for the recent day trip. “Once I learned about Mission Outreach during a previous tour of the facility in March, I thought it would be something fun and fulfilling to take part in,” she said. “It is great to see that so much donated medical equipment is getting to areas where it is needed.”

The group sorted large boxes of mixed up equipment into approximately 30 bins of specific items such as catheters, needles, personal hygiene items and more.

“Colleagues at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital truly live our Franciscan Mission through donation of their time, goods and money,” Mike Conley, chairperson of Mission Integration Committee said. “In just two short weeks after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, colleagues raised over $7,700 for Mission Outreach to help ship needed medical supplies.”

During another hospital-wide collection, as part of the celebration of the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, employees donated enough items to make up 150 Hygiene Kits.

These kits will be used as learning tools in literacy, hygiene, nutrition and health classes throughout the world. It is this global outlook that is reenforced through the Mission of all HSHS affiliates and employees can view their daily work at the hospital as fulfilling that same mission, be it locally, regionally or globally.

More than $14 million of usable medical equipment and supplies have been received from hospitals, clinics, nursing facilities, manufacturers, and distributors from several states including Illinois, Wisconsin and Missouri.

Mission Outreach welcomes volunteers from all areas — whether it is a student needing volunteer hours, a leader of a church group looking for a mission-focused cause to support, or an individual who simply wishes to give back in a meaningful way.

Contact Jill Hawkins at 217-525-8843, ext. 195 to request more information on volunteering.