IMEC is a 501(C)(3), volunteer-based, non-profit organization established in 1995.  IMEC is registered with USAID as a Private Voluntary Organization, and is registered with the U.S. System for Award Management for subcontractor and grantee status.  IMEC provides equipment solutions for health care, agriculture, and education projects in developing countries, partnering with a variety of humanitarian and development organizations around the world.

In 2011, the support we received from our donors, committed volunteers and partners enabled us to collaborate with 22 humanitarian partners to complete 76 projects in 18 countries.  

 

IMEC’s MISSION

IMEC’s mission is to transform impoverished communities around the world. We provide equipment solutions for health care, agriculture, and education projects in developing countries. We work in collaboration with other humanitarian organizations, governments, faith-based groups and individuals.  With the help of our  partner organizations, the dedication of our volunteers, and the generosity of our donors, IMEC has served impoverished communities in over 80 countries, providing equipment solutions to hundreds of facilities in impoverished regions of the world. We have provided tools for doctors in Kenya, sent hospital equipment to Vietnam, delivered Maternal, Infant and Pediatric programs to Haiti, sent farming equipment to establish small farms Peru, brought medical supplies to Uzbekistan, and delivered classroom equipment and supplies to Jamaica.

IMEC provides equipment, tools and supplies via IMEC Suites. Each Suite contains all of the equipment, tools and supplies needed to operate a service or department. For example: an Exam Room Suite contains all the materials a doctor needs to operate an exam room; a Family Farm Suite provides a local farmer with the tools he or she needs to set up and run a small farm; and a Classroom Suite provides the desks, chairs, chalkboards and other materials a teacher needs to create a classroom for his or her students. IMEC serves the needs of local doctors, nurses, teachers and farmers, relying on their knowledge of which materials are most needed for their communities.

 

IMEC’s Guiding Principles

• We serve all who need us, without regard for religion, ethnicity, or political affiliation.
• We perform every task with respect for those we serve, and those who give so freely of their time.
• We have the utmost respect for our planet and operate programs to help reduce environmental waste.
• We are a path for caring and dedicated volunteers to usefully serve those in need.
• We promote a spirit of trust and cooperation among the partner organizations with whom we collaborate.
• We remain focused and true to our mission, regardless of the circumstances.

 

IMEC’s HISTORY

IMEC is the result of the passion, vision and management experience of Tom Keefe. During a time period when many U.S. hospitals were consolidating and discarding medical equipment, Tom visited India. There he made the connection that our surplus goods could be recovered instead of discarded, and could help alleviate poverty–not only in India, but all over the world. Upon his return home, Tom acted out of deep conviction and belief, and in 1995 IMEC began in Tom Keefe’s home garage.

Applying his 20 years of senior management experience in hospital administration, Tom developed a system to take unused or retired medical equipment and deliver it anywhere it was needed. IMEC’s work continues today in a modern, well-equipped 150,000 square foot workshop and distribution center, and includes the procurement and supply of new equipment as well.

Tom’s core philosophy is still the heart of the organization: reduce environmental waste by recovering surplus equipment and supplies, get those materials to those who need them, and do it efficiently and with respect for the life and spirit of the people who use it, and for the planet we call home.

Volunteers:  IMEC is a volunteer-based organization. Over 90 percent of our work is completed by volunteers.  Families, faith-based groups, corporate teams, medical professionals and technologists are just a few of the groups that give their time to serve the poor. Over 175 volunteers are involved with each IMEC project. From assembling pallets of supplies to performing in-country assessments to making repairs, IMEC volunteers are the backbone of our work.

 

IMEC’s HEALTH CARE PROGRAM

IMEC provides doctors and nurses in impoverished communities with the particular tools they need to advance the standard of care for their nation’s poor. IMEC works with humanitarian partners to provide desperately needed equipment and supplies to both revitalize existing facilities and equip newly constructed facilities.

IMEC Medical Suites

A Medical Suite provides all of the equipment and supplies needed to turn an empty room into a fully functional department of a working hospital. For example, an Exam Room Suite contains an exam table, light, diagnostic equipment, medical supplies, patient scale, patient chair, linens, medication cart, desk, chair and waste container: all of the furnishings and materials needed for a complete Exam Room.

In consultation with doctors in the U.S. and in developing countries, IMEC has developed over 40 types of Medical Suites. Combined, these Suites can equip an entire hospital, including administrative offices, kitchen, exam rooms, emergency departments, and surgery. Over our years of service, IMEC has developed this system into an efficient and effective process for improving health care in impoverished hospitals worldwide.

IMEC’s Maternal Infant Pediatric (MIP) Program

The purpose of IMEC’s Maternal-Infant-Pediatric Program is to create a fully-functional medical department within an existing hospital or clinic, capable of caring for the health needs of expectant mothers, newborn infants and young children in developing countries. Like all of IMEC’s medical department projects, the MIP Department can be adjusted to meet the specific needs and capabilities of the receiving facility and its staff, and the overall package provides complete tools for maternal and infant care, no matter where it is delivered.

The MIP Program contains medical equipment and supplies chosen and organized into purpose-driven IMEC Suites that focus around specific elements of health care. Examples of Suites included are: Delivery Suites, Nursery Suites, Examination Suites, and Laboratory Suites. Our system of Suite organization allows us to package equipment so that it can be easily shipped and easily installed at the receiving facility. Within hours of arrival, medical staff can begin caring for their patients effectively.

When the MIP Department arrives, medical staff has the materials to support maternal care, infant delivery (both natural delivery and cesarean section), post-delivery care for both mother and child, and infant care. The program includes resuscitation suites for infants and adults, emergency care for problem deliveries and for infants in crisis, and also supports advanced nursery care with incubators, radiant warmers, infant oxygen supplies, and phototherapy to treat jaundice. It also provides doctors with diagnostic laboratories, medical libraries, and general staff support functions. At the request of many doctors, we’ve recently added an ob/gyn ultrasound machine to the MIP Department.

The MIP Department program was developed by IMEC in cooperation with Infante Sano, and with the advice of doctors from Brigham & Women’s Hospital and from Boston Children’s Hospital.

 

IMEC’s AGRICULTURE PROGRAM 

IMEC’s agriculture program helps to reduce world hunger by supporting small farms in developing countries. When seeking to alleviate hunger, it is essential to support small family farms in the developing world. A lack of tools and irrigation equipment prevents these farmers from feeding their families and their communities. To help support these farmers and the humanitarian organizations that serve them, IMEC developed the Family Farm Program.

The IMEC Family Farm Program aims to decrease world hunger by supporting small farms in the developing world. An IMEC Farm Suite contains all of the tools a small farmer needs to start and maintain his or her farm, including the tools to clear and maintain farmland, and to dig and plant and irrigate their crops.

The IMEC Family Farm Suite was developed with consultation from both U.S. agricultural schools and small farmers in developing countries. Each suite allows the creation and maintenance of one new small family farm. These new small farms decrease hunger and increase self-sustainability in the area served. The family can now grow enough food for both their own consumption while producing enough surplus to bring to market, supporting their community for years to come.

 

IMEC’s EDUCATION PROGRAM  

IMEC provides teachers, schools and vocational training centers with the equipment, tools and supplies needed to educate their students. Once they have the appropriate materials and equipment, these students can gain the skills they need to work toward self-sustainability.

IMEC Education Suites equip a variety of classroom settings, from Classroom Suites for teachers educating young children, to Vocational Training Suites that allow instructors to provide training and education to physicians, nurses, technicians, mechanics, masons, carpenters and farmers.

IMEC’s Disabled Orphans Program

IMEC serves the most vulnerable children in the world by equipping their medical caregivers and teachers with the materials and supplies needed to advance the standard of health and education in their community.

Among the poor in the developing world there is a stark hierarchy of needs, and at the very bottom are disabled orphans. As children, they cannot care for themselves.  As orphans, they have no family to care for them.  As the disabled, their need for care is far greater than that of their peers.

Far too often, these children find themselves rejected by their communities, thrown away, with no advocates or support. The few places that can take them in find themselves overburdened by the increased need for care that these children require.

Classrooms, beds, linens, medical supplies, wheelchairs, basic pediatric equipment, and simple physical therapy tools can create a base for care that can make a truly miraculous difference in the lives of these children. The program provides equipment and supplies for medical care, dental care, physical therapy, classrooms, cafeteria, kitchen, administrative offices and bedrooms and community areas.

This program provides an orphanage with not only vital medical equipment and supplies, but basic facilities to give the orphans a dignified and meaningful life.

 

EPHAS Model:  The implementation of IMEC materials within a community can be documented and, even more so, the impact can be seen and felt on a global scale.  Every Person Has a Story (EPHAS) is a concept and a model that allows local IMEC beneficiaries to self-document, revealing their realities to the rest of the world.

IMEC’s Humanitarian Partner Collaboration:  IMEC Collaborates with other humanitarian groups, governments and individuals to accomplish our mutual goal of transforming communities in developing countries. These partnerships around the world enable us to complete projects that make a sustainable and significant impact on the communities we serve. Below is a partial list of some of our collaboration partners: