[April 18, 2012]

Two IMS Techs to Repair Surgical Instruments on Hospital Ship in Togo

Instruments of Mercy, a charity that secures surgical instrument repair for medical mission teams, this week will send two IMS repair technicians to Togo to support volunteer surgeons onboard the world's largest non-governmental hospital ship.

IMS technicians James Crowe, left, and Ken Barnes, depart Thursday for Togo, where they will repair surgical instruments for the non-profit Instruments of Mercy onboard the Africa Mercy. (Photo: Business Wire)

The technicians will repair surgical instruments for Mercy Ships, whose floating hospital, the Africa Mercy, serves some of the world's poorest populations. The 15-day trip begins April 19.

"This year will be the fourth time we have sent an IMS technician to Africa since we started working with Mercy Ships in 2009," said Toney Peer, director of the non-profit Instruments of Mercy. "The difference this year is that we are sending two technicians instead of one to ensure they can refurbish all of the ship's instruments."

Instruments of Mercy was founded in 2004 to secure instrument refurbishment for surgical mission teams. "We continue to serve small mission teams around the world, but our partnership with Mercy Ships has made it possible for us to reach many more pople," she said.

James Crowe and Ken Barnes, two surgical instrument technicians in IMS' Birmingham repair facility, are making the trip this year. This will be Barnes' first time to assist Mercy Ships, while Crowe worked onboard the Africa Mercy in 2011, when it was anchored in Sierra Leone.

Crowe said his 2011 experience showed him what his work really means to medical professionals and their patients, and while on the ship he felt like he was part of something special. "It's great to work alongside people of so many different nationalities," he said. "They build each other up and help each other with great compassion and respect."

Barnes said this will be his first trip out of the country - but he's just as excited about the journey he'll be making professionally. "This trip will not only allow me to see the instruments in use and get the doctors' feedback, but it will also give me a glimpse of what I can do to make their experience in the operating room better."

Instruments of Mercy was founded by Gene Robinson, CEO of IMS, a surgical instrument management and consulting company that serves some 2,500 U.S. healthcare facilities.

"Surgeries performed on the Africa Mercy change lives," Robinson said. "They literally help the blind see and the lame walk, removing disabling cataracts and tumors, repairing cleft palates and enabling children to walk for the first time. In refurbishing their instruments, our goal is to help these volunteer surgeons perform more procedures with the best possible outcomes."

About Instruments of Mercy

Instruments of Mercy, Inc. is a non-profit organization committed to ensuring that the instruments used for medical service trips are in proper working condition. Instruments of Mercy has supported more than 89 mission trips in 27 countries.

About IMS (Integrated Medical Systems International, Inc.)

IMS is a surgical instrument management and consulting company with facilities in Alabama, Florida, Maryland, and Arizona and sales and clinical teams serving more than 2,500 healthcare facilities nationwide. IMS provides instrument and device inventory management; real-time online data and tools to track instruments, tissue and implants; restoration of instruments to manufacturers' performance standards; and on-location clinical personnel to manage sterile processing and interface with the OR. To learn more, visit www.imsready.com.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50242727&lang=en

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