Louisville Medicine Volume 65, Issue 7 | Page 11

IN REMEMBRANCE pital medical staff . In 1992 , he was elected President of the Jefferson County ( now Greater Louisville ) Medical Society ( JCMS ), where he would craft his greatest legacy , the founding of Supplies Over Seas .
Dr . Waterman ( left ) in the SOS warehouse .
WATERMAN ’ S GREATEST LEGACY : SUPPLIES OVER
SEAS In 1992 , Waterman learned of a small Yale program that gathered unused medical supplies and sent them to medically needy countries . Observing much waste here , he organized a similar program through the JCMS , with initial support from Louisville ’ s Medical Center hospitals . The effort grew and gathered more support throughout the medical community , from the JCMS Foundation , from Mr . David Jones and the Humana Foundation , and from the Kentucky Medical Association Foundation . The Humana Foundation Executive Director , Virginia Kelly Judd , suggested a name that Waterman would attach to the growing effort , Supplies Over Seas ( S . O . S .). Program growth has been exponential over a quarter century , and S . O . S . now has a strong national reputation and global reach .
Refurbishing and recycling supplies from the basic to the most complex of medical equipment , S . O . S . has served needs in over 100 developing countries . Simultaneously this recycling keeps tons of plastics , metal and toxic electronic residues from local landfills . The S . O . S . shipments range from small collections hand-carried by Louisville ’ s many international medical volunteers to 40-foot sea-going containers , which hold 6-8 tons of supplies and equipment with values of $ 150,000- $ 350,000 each . S . O . S . has now served hundreds of humanitarian outreach programs from UofL Medical School and community organizations , and it has greatly enhanced their effectiveness . I recall with great appreciation the value added to a 1990s effort for improving burn care in Vietnam by hand-carried S . O . S . supplies for many missions , plus one container shipment to the Burn Unit of Saigon ’ s Children ’ s Hospital , Nee Dong One .
In 2017 , S . O . S . has already shipped over 300,000 pounds of supplies , including 19 ocean-going containers and over 130 collections hand-carried by mission teams . Medical School and community
humanitarian programs served by container shipments in 2017 include the U of L Pediatrics mission in Tanzania , the Women ’ s Cancer Alliance in Haiti , the Love from Louisville outreach to Syrian refugee camps in Greece , plus programs in Senegal , Nicarauga , and in St . Vincent and the Grenadines . Currently , S . O . S . is organizing container shipments to victims of the Mexico City earthquake and the Puerto Rico hurricane . This year , S . O . S . became one of only six nationally accredited Medical Surplus Recovery Organizations .
The great humanitarian good accomplished on this ongoing basis all derives from the insight of Dr . Norton Waterman 25 years ago . In recognition , Dr . Waterman was selected to receive the Excellence in International Humanitarian Service Award of the 2017 Doctors ’ Ball , sponsored by KentuckyOne Health Jewish Hospital and St . Mary ’ s Foundation . Sadly , he died just two weeks before this well-deserved recognition , but the Louisville medical community has been inspired to honor his legacy . Friends and admirers may honor Dr . Waterman with contributions to S . O . S . and those wishing to make S . O . S . a beneficiary of their estate may enter the Waterman Society , founded in his memory at S . O . S . For information , contact Tim Tomes at S . O . S . ( tim . tomes @ suppliesoverseas . org ). Dr . Norton Waterman has left a legacy for all of us to admire and sustain .
- Gordon R . Tobin , MD
DECEMBER 2017 9