Document text
80 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, June 2, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Prime Times Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 12, 2004 Steve Cool, kneeling, prepares a box of bed parts for loading Tuesday onto a truck filled with hospital equipment at Providence Medford Medical Center. The supplies are bound for the nation of Nepal. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Medford church sends hospital beds to Nepal By BILL KETTLER Mail Tribune Hospital beds that once comforted Rogue Valley residents will soon give rest to people on the other side of the world. Providence Medford Medical Center has donated 50 used hospital beds to a hospital in Nepal, the tiny Himalayan nation sandwiched between India and China. Volunteers from Medford’s Seventh-day Adventist Church loaded the beds and other donated medical equipment into a shipping container Tuesday, the first step in a long journey that will end in a little town called Banepa, just down the road from Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu. Steve Cool of Medford collected the materials for Scheer Memorial Hospital, which is supported by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Cool, 47, a member of the Medford Seventh-day Adventist Church, learned about the Adventist hospital in Nepal during a medical mission to India in 2003. He started collecting supplies for the Adventist hospitals in India. That plan faltered over legal complications about bringing medical supplies to India. The church’s hospital in Nepal, however, jumped at the chance for the beds, bedside tables and desks. "The beds they have now look like they’re from the 1930s or ’40s," said Cool, who works as the technical director for Oregon Advanced Imaging. Advertisement Nepal is one of the poorest countries in Asia, but its spectacular scenery and friendly people have made it a popular tourist destination for Western travelers since the 1960s. Visitors come to climb the mountains and hike the scenic footpaths that are the only travel routes between mountain villages. An armed rebellion that sprang up several years ago has sharply reduced the tourist trade, which has been one of Nepal’s principal sources of foreign exchange. The country’s geographic isolation has hampered industrial development, and most Nepalis still live in small villages, where medical care is scarce or nonexistent. Cool also asked colleagues in the local medical community for equipment and supplies. His collection of new and used equipment, including X-ray gear and patient monitors from Rogue Valley Medical Center, was more than a 40-foot shipping container could hold. "It’s amazing what comes when you ask," Cool said. "When you tell people what you’re doing, they start emptying their pockets." Several members of the Medford Adventist church will join Cool on a trip to Nepal to unload and set up the equipment when it arrives. "Steve got all this stuff donated," said Rory Wold of Medford as he helped load beds and mattresses into the shipping container. "The least I could do was go along and help unload it." Reach reporter Bill Kettlerat 776-4492, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times