Used medical equipment helps creatures far and near, great and small

Equipment that has outlived its usefulness at Battle Creek Health Systems sometimes is sent abroad. Donations have gone to medical missions in the Caribbean and the Philippines.

Other times it goes no further than Binder Park Zoo.

BCHS gladly obliged when a local request came from the zoo asking if the hospital might have some specialized equipment that it might be able to use in its veterinary clinic.

Dr. Chris Tabaka, staff veterinarian at Binder Park Zoo recently performed a "spring teeth cleaning" for one of the zoo's snow leopards. He worked under a special light that was donated to the zoo by Battle Creek Health System. 

One piece of equipment donated has been a pulse oximeter, a medical device that indirectly measures the oxygen saturation of a patient's blood and changes in blood volume in the skin. The hospital also has given the zoo a surgical light, x-ray viewbox, and surgical instruments and trays.

"Even though our medical staff does not treat animals, it does not mean that the hospital cannot be supportive with medical equipment for the zoo," says Tammy Clinger, BCHS director of materials management. "We had a number of medical devices that had outgrown our use, so what better way of extending their lives than to help our local zoo residents."

Battle Creek Health System, sponsored by two parent organizations -- Trinity Health and BCHS Community Partners -- promotes wellness for the whole person with access and compassion for all.

For the latest medical information, visit the BCHS web site.

Writer: Kathy Jennings
Source: Peter Phelps, Battle Creek Health Systems