Title:Alumna finds her calling in repurposing medical supplies

Three years ago, Tammy Kenney Bevins (N’83) was working at a rehab and long-term care nursing facility where she would always try to repurpose extra supplies. A nurse recommended she join Partners for World Health (PWH), a nonprofit organization based in Portland, Maine, that does the same thing on a broader spectrum.

Unused items like syringes and dressing supplies can’t be used past their expiration dates in the U.S., but are still considered usable in other countries.

“At the nursing facility, I had to take these items out of circulation and pay a fee to dispose of them,” says Kenney Bevins. “When we donate those supplies, there’s cost savings for the organization.”

Kenney Bevins says that when the care facility where she worked upgraded from manual crank beds to electric adjustable beds, the crank beds were shipped to Bangladesh through PWH. A charitable or government organization then distributed them to those in need.

Volunteering with PWH gives Kenney Bevins an opportunity to see those items get used overseas. Since 2023, she has been to Kenya, Senegal, and Uganda as co-leader for the medical service trips.

In addition to the large-scale shipments, volunteers bring additional duffel bags full of medical supplies to set up clinics.

“We hold clinics in different villages—sometimes in the mountains, sometimes by the shores of Lake Victoria, and often in places where they’ve never had a medical clinic,” says Kenney Bevins. “You’re just under a tent with chairs, kind of making it happen. People visit with various medical issues since we provide primary care.”

PWH seeks out pregnant women to educate them about what is and isn’t a concerning side effect of pregnancy. Pregnant patients receive free birthing kits to bring to the clinic or hospital for their child’s birth and are instructed on how to use them in case of emergency. Kenney Bevins and her fellow volunteers also work with the local health care providers and the country’s leaders to enhance the health and well-being of their citizens.

“My relationship Partners for World Health ticks a lot of boxes, but the reduce/reuse aspect—the effort at sustainability—really speaks to me,” says Kenney Bevins. “There are copious amounts of waste in our medical system across the board.”