Smith Village donated 33 high-quality hospital beds to clinics and medical centers in Honduras to improve the care of patients. Smith Village worked with the Brother’s Brother Foundation (BBF) in Pittsburgh to handle the logistics and transportation of the donation.
It was decided that the Johanson Wing for skilled nursing care and rehab residents at Smith Village, now undergoing a $22.3 million modernization, would upgrade from standard 36-inch wide beds to 42 inches wide, commonly used today in hospitals. The beds being replaced were in excellent condition and needed a new home.
“We could have hauled them to the scrapyard, but the beds have significant value,” said Chris August, corporate environmental and safety director for Smith Senior Living. He estimates that the current value of the beds is $21,450. When purchased new, they cost nearly $40,000. “We are a not-for-profit organization so helping people is part of our mission and our culture.”
Brother’s Brother, founded in 1958, is dedicated to facilitating in-kind donations worldwide in the areas of healthcare, infrastructure, disaster response and education.
BBF worked with their team of partner organizations to make sure that the beds could be donated where they would be of most use. They decided to work with Cepudo, a not-for-profit organization in Honduras which could distribute the beds to clinics, hospitals or retirement homes.
Once the logistics were arranged, August worked with his team at Smith Village and a construction crew from Weis Builders, the company working on the Johanson Wing project, to pack the beds and mattresses into a 40-foot container to be shipped to Central America.
“We were very pleased to dedicate resources to ensuring that these beds could be donated,” said Smith Senior Living president and CEO Kevin McGee. “As a non-profit organization since 1924, the spirit and values of our community motivates us to use our resources wisely and sharing them when they can be repurposed by another like-minding group.”
Smith Village, 2320 W. 113th Pl., is home to 255 adults 62 years and older, who are independent and assisted living, memory care, short-term stay and skilled nursing care residents benefiting from healthcare and lifestyle programs. For information, call 773-474-7300 or visit SmithVillage.org.
