I am sure there has been at least one time that you have written a paper for grade school that was titled what I did for my summer vacation. Well, here is mine from 2011.

It was a very different summer than previous years. Normally classes are finished around the first week of May, exams are graded, final grades are submitted and my biomedical engineering technology students are just starting their internships. This is my vacation time; time to relax. Time to update course content, prepare for accreditation visits and get caught up on all of the paperwork that has piled up for the past two semesters.

It is also family time. Time to go on a vacation and travel a little, work on the honey-do list of all those projects around the home. Do some consulting work and write articles for MD Publishing. At Penn State University and I am sure at other schools as well, there is no vacation time, no sick days, no holidays or personal days. You are just expected to be at work and do your job of teaching. If you do miss a day, you have to be creative and make up the time on your own, as the content must still be delivered. So the summers are a time to come up for a breath of air and take care of you. But my summer of 2011 was not any of that at all.

There were plans for me to return to Liberia, Africa, for an extended visit that summer to follow up on the issues from my January visit. But due to family health issues, that was not possible. So an alternative plan was put into action: Bring the Liberian biomed techs to the U.S. to live with our family and teach them everything there is to know about maintaining medical equipment.

With a generous donor in Pittsburgh and the coordination efforts of the Brothers Brother Foundation, Prince and Willie arrived at our home the first of June. Now that they arrived, where do you begin? With only limited days till their return home, what is the most important information that you can give to them that can make the largest impact when they return home? And how much information, training, hands-on activities can you do that they will retain the information?

Every day we did a lesson and some training. Having access to all of my labs and equipment at PSU was great, but there are some devices and expertise that I do not have. I realized very quickly that I could not do it alone. This had to be a team effort. So I put a call to the biomed community and ask for help. The responses I received from individuals and organizations were more than I had expected. I am humbled and honored to be a cog in the wheel working with such generous and caring individuals. The old saying that it takes a village to raise a child. Well this summer I learned that it takes a village to train biomed techs.

I want to recognize the efforts of individuals and organizations of the biomed village who contributed to the training and education of Willie and Prince during the summer of 2011. People and organizations contributed by giving up their valuable time, resources, manuals, equipment, tools and cash. All of these efforts will help these two individuals, but they will take back that knowledge and share it with others to make their healthcare delivery system better. The efforts of just one person can reach out and make a chain reaction of many other positive outcomes. So in addition to saying thank you to all who contributed, I want the industry to know who these individuals and organizations are as well.

• DITEC (Ed Kohut & Joe Geary) – Contributed two weeks of training (Introduction to Electronics and Introduction to Medical Equipment) courses and a one-day session at their facility on how to troubleshoot radiology equipment.
• MedWish (Tish Dahlby ) – Contributed medical equipment, furniture, test equipment and other supplies that are being sent in a container to Liberia.
• Brothers Brother Foundation (Luke Higson) – Assisted in coordinating the visit with the donor, financial book keeping, cash contribution towards the Phebe biomed shop improvement project.
• G.A.S. (Lynne Fisher & Bill Narey)– Provided a full day of training on vaporizer maintenance and testing, two vaporizers and test stand to leak test vaporizers.
• Merry X-Ray (Zane Phlegar & John Dice) – Full day training on radiological systems, several film processors, and test equipment.
• Chosen Mission Project (Rick King) – two full days of training on surgical tables, surgical lights and sterilizers.
• Excela Health (Joe Mikeska) – one day training with biomeds with emphases on surgical equipment.
• Jefferson Regional Medical Center (Kevin Reilly) – two days of training with biomed techs, x-ray unit, various medical devices and cash towards the Phebe biomed shop improvement project.
• Quality Repair Services (Jim & Helen Stamatelos) – Significant cash contribution towards the Phebe biomed shop improvement project.
• Saint Vincent Health Center (Greg Gilmore) – Tour of hospital and biomed shop.
• Jose Caballe, MD – Physical examinations for Willie and Prince.
• UPMC St. Margaret Hospital (Dan DeDominicis) – one day training with biomeds at hospital.
• Express Systems & Parts Network Inc. (Chris Reeder) – Tour of facility and services, offering of technical support and imaging overview.
• Myron Kaufman, DDS – Cleaning, examination and corrections for Willie and Prince.
• Robert Peirce & Associates, PC (Bob Peirce) – Financial sponsor for bringing Willie and Prince to the U.S.
• Circleville United Methodist Church (too many to mention) – Accepted and welcomed our new family members to the U.S., lunches, dinners, parties and financial support.
• Gregg Meyer (Merry X-Ray) – Cash contribution towards the Phebe biomed shop improvement project.
• Stinelli Bros Moving & Storage, Inc. (Fred Stinelli) – Crating and shipping of x-ray room from Pittsburgh to Cleveland.
• Arlene Hall (Penn State University) – Cash contribution towards the Phebe biomed shop improvement project.
• Blair Orthopedics’ (Brittany Dillier) & Merry X-Ray (Zane Phlegar & John Dice) – X-ray unit removed and being shipped to Liberia
• Ron Gault (Duquesne University) – Cash contribution towards the Phebe biomed shop improvement project.
• John Jorinscay – Laptop computer and electronic test equipment.
• Indiana Hospital (Andrew Bednar) – Riken gas analyzer and other biomedical test equipment.
• Hartman Family (Amy, Brian, Scott & Katie) – For giving up their summer, game room and time with dad, but they did get two new brothers out the deal.