Mending Faces
- Founded:
- 2010
- Mission Sites:
- Philippines & Colombia
- Equipment Sourced:
-
- Portable Anesthesia Machine
- Patient Monitor
- Electrosurgical Unit
- Pulse Oximeter
The Opportunity
Founded in 2010, Mending Faces is a non-profit organization that provides life changing oral-maxillofacial surgeries to children in need. The organization completes a minimum of two annual medical missions, travelling to the Philippines and one other country within a calendar year.
During a medical mission, Mending Faces performs more than 70 surgical procedures to repair cleft palates and lips within a four-day period. On average, patients range in age from under one to 17 years old. These procedures often take place in challenging conditions where hospitals and clinics have limited access to working equipment.
Mending Faces found difficulty in sourcing durable and portable medical equipment that could be used in remote environments and handle extensive use and travel. All equipment needed to be set up and taken down for transport in a very timely manner, and it must work under long days of use.
Our Solution
Dr. Mimi Wong, a founding board member of Mending Faces and the board's current chair, originally contacted Avante to source medical equipment for an upcoming mission trip to the Philippines. Dr. Wong required a portable anesthesia machine that could accommodate the challenging conditions of the upcoming trip. With over 20 years of experience in medical missions, Dr. Wong maintains the top priority and specific focus patient safety and this is dependent upon the caliber of equipment the team will use.
Avante provided Dr. Wong and the Mending Faces team with a cost-effective, portable anesthesia machine and has since sourced many other products for the organization.
(Avante Health Solutions) was amazing in helping us sort through what we needed. Avante has always stood behind their products. If we ever had any questions or the rare issue, (Avante) was immediately available to guide us through.
Dr. Wong, along with other Mending Faces team members, were very satisfied with the performance and ease of use of the DRE Transport anesthesia machine. The original budget for the first project allowed for one anesthesia machine, but over time their inventory has grown to include five operating tables, a pulse oximeter, an electrosurgical unit, and patient monitors.
