PQMD News

Partnership for Quality Medical Donations Names Project HOPE’s Patricia E. Bacuros Chair of the Board

Millwood, VA (January 8, 2013) – The Partnership for Quality Medical Donations (PQMD) announced that Patricia E. Bacuros, Director of Gifts-in-Kind Development at Project HOPE, will serve as Chairperson of the organization’s Board of Directors beginning immediately through 2014.

Established in 1996, PQMD is the only international nonprofit membership association for pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers and nongovernmental organizations dedicated to responsible medical donation standards and practice. “The demand for donated medicines and other resources for vulnerable communities across the globe is as great as ever,” said Ms. Bacuros. “I’m excited for this opportunity to ensure that PQMD’s donation standards and practices remain steadfast, and I look forward to nurturing successful collaborations between the healthcare firms that donate medical products and the humanitarian organizations that deliver and distribute these crucial resources to those in need.”

PQMD Receives CMMB Global Health Care Leadership Award

The CMMB Global Health Care Leadership Award was established by CMMB in 2012 to honor individuals and/or institutions who lead in the fight to meet and conquer the global health issues that plague the underserved and who have made a tremendous positive impact on serving the poorest of the poor. CMMB presented this award at the recent PQMD Educational Forum held in New York, NY on October 16 2012. PQMD is honored to be the first ever recipient of this prestigious award. We would like to thank CMMB for their continued contribution to our organization as well as those they serve around the world.

PQMD Presents the James B. Russo Service Award

Thursday, October 18, 2012 - New York, NY - Tonight PQMD awarded Paul Derstine, former PQMD Board Member. Paul Derstine, was president and chief executive officer of PQMD member organization, IMA World Health for 17 years. During his tenure, IMA grew from a small non-profit distributor of donated medical products to an internationally recognized leader in the global health care arena.Derstine became president of IMA in 1992. Prior to joining to IMA, much of Derstine’s career had been committed to international development work in the Caribbean, primarily Haiti, and in Africa. He directed organizations involved in primary health care, micro-enterprise credit and coffee and cocoa. He also served as general manager and part owner of an equipment leasing business, and senior vice president of a commercial bank leasing division, both in Pennsylvania.

Derstine has served on various boards of directors, including The Grant Foundation/Hospital Albert Schweitzer (Haiti), the American Leprosy Missions, the Partnership for Quality Medical Donations, the NGDO Coordination Group for Onchocerciasis (“River Blindness”) (Geneva) and the Maryland International Advocacy Council.

The James B Russo service award is named for PQMD's first Executive Director and honors PQMD volunteers who have made a considerable contribution to PQMD. Derstine served PQMD as a founding member of the Board of Directors and devoted countless hours to advancing PQMD and the PQMD mission of advancing quality medical donations worldwide.

Medical Donation Alliance Receives ANSI Accreditation

Alpharetta, GA (September 1, 2011) – The Partnership for Quality Medical Donations (PQMD) announced today that it is the first organization dedicated to quality medical donations to be accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as a Standards Development Organization (SDO).

“Accreditation by ANSI is an important accomplishment for PQMD and medical product donation standards,” said Lori Warrens, PQMD’s Executive Director. “ANSI is the only accreditor of U.S. Standards Developers, the only body that approves standards as American National Standards (ANS) and the U.S. representative to ISO (International Organization for Standardization). ANSI accreditation provides a solid foundation for advancing medical donation standards so that only needed and appropriate products reach the people who need them.”

PQMD Members Respond to Famine in East Africa

It's important to prevent inappropriate donations during disasters. PQMD encourages donors to work with experienced NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) that have pharmacological experience, established relationships with the government and in-country NGOs and a strong field presence. PQMD facilitates sharing disaster assessment data to ensure that only requested products are donated.

Below is a list of PQMD Members actively responding to the Famine in East Africa including links with more information about their work. Many members are working behind the scenes to respond appropriately.