Giving Back: US LED Supports Recycler of Medical Supplies

Houston-based US LED donated 500 ultra-long-life LED tubes to a hometown organization called Medical Bridges, who desperately needed the lighting for their warehouse.

Medical Bridges is a nonprofit that takes surplus medical supplies and equipment and, instead of having them be discarded, repurposes them by sending them to countries with the world’s most at-risk populations.

Medical Bridges was founded in 1997 after Dr. Patricia Brock Howard and her colleague,  Dr. Margaret Goetz, became distressed by local health care conditions while on a medical mission in El Salvador. After returning to Houston, they worked to create a recycling program to send medical surplus to qualified healthcare providers who need them in developing countries.

It’s estimated that more than $9 billion worth of surplus medical supplies are discarded each year in the United States as a result of materials that have been opened but never used, or items that are just outdated according to U.S. standards. Less fortunate countries desperately need medical supplies such as these. Medical Bridges makes those connections. To date, the organization has shipped more than $60 million worth of medical supplies and equipment to 81 countries around the world. Early this year, US LED donated the LED tubes for its warehouse, which is where the supplies are sorted and staged.

“The gift of light and the support of US LED is greatly appreciated and vitally important to our day to day operations,” says Walter Ulrich, president & CEO of Medical Bridges. “The warehouse is well lit and safe. Our staff is more productive, and our energy costs have been reduced thanks to US LED.”