Mainebiz

V O L . X X V I N O. X I X A U G U S T 1 0 , 2 0 2 0 28 After two more moves, Partners for World Health landed at its cur- rent headquarters on Walch Drive and maintains additional storage spaces in Portland, Presque Isle and Bangor. e first distribution went to Haiti in 2010, after a major earthquake. Since then, programs in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Cameroon, Colombia, Libya, Peru, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Turkey for Syrian refugees, Uganda, Liberia, Ethiopia, Nigeria Burundi, Sudan, Vietnam and Zimbabwe have received assistance. A serendipitous discovery was recently made in Puerto Rico. Partners for World Health had shipped stock in 2017, after the island was struck by Category 5 Hurricane Maria, but it was left in a shuttered hospital. Puerto Rican health officials discovered the stock in March and redeployed it for the pandemic. e value of donated supplies in each container is $200,000 to $250,000. Clients pay only ship- ping fees, ranging from $18,000 to $28,000. at money goes to expenses like payroll and rent. Partners for World Health also raises money through fundraisers, grants and partnerships with resellers who buy expired products. Immediate connection In 2011, McLellan ran Partners for World Health's first medical mission, to Cambodia. Now she leads six to seven missions per year, taking 10 to 15 medical practitioners. Participants pay their own way; missions are free to recipients. Missions bring supplies, provide surgical and primary health- care services in partnership with local staff, offer training and education and assist with non-medical work like cleaning and repairing. McLellan is always develop- ing contacts. In Uganda, she paid an impromptu visit to one hospital, found a nursing administrator and introduced herself. "I said, 'Can I talk with you a few minutes? I'm a nurse,'" she explains. "When you tell someone you're a nurse, it's an immediate connection." e result? McLellan returned the following year with a training program. "She has unbounded energy," says Michael Curci, a retired Maine Medical pediatric surgeon who joined McLellan's board last year. Curci participates in separate medical missions and uses the non- profit's services. "In the past, anytime I needed equipment I had to go to the hospital and beg," he says. "I'm far more effec- tive now." Two years ago, McLellan visited Curci's Rwandan facility, where he conducts surgical training. en she approached administrators at a local hospital to get help for Curci's future programs. "It's amazing what she's done, basi- cally on her own," he says. "She's so dedicated and she knows how to get what she wants," says Nancy Kaye, a Partners for World Health director. For McLellan, it goes back to people in need. "I remember standing in line wait- ing to go through Saudi customs on one of my trips," she says. "Other women, most from Bangladesh, were coming in as housekeepers and maids. ey were going to be paid maybe a dollar a day. ey were going to end up being abused and they were scared. No one spoke their language. It broke my heart. at's why I stress to people, 'You've got to commit to something that's bigger than yourself.'" Laurie Schreiber, Mainebiz senior writer, can be reached at lschreiber @ mainebiz.biz » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY In her own words What triggered your career path? My mother! After I graduated from college with no clear path but selling costume jewelry in the basement of Filene's in Boston, she said, 'This is not going to work.' So she arranged for my entrance into Massachusetts General Hospital School of Nursing. I thank my mom everyday for making this decision, as it opened up so many doors for me throughout my career. Did you have a mentor or role model? No. I just followed the teachings, the sound principles instilled in us by my parents from years ago. When you start something you stick with it. Always find the good in people and look at challenges not as a problem, but just a situation with a solution. And find the solution. What advice would you give your former self? People have their own reasons for their comments, whether they be positive or negative. Try not to take it too seriously. Reflect on it; learn from it and move on. What keeps you up at night? Nothing!!! I have little worry, as what I do, I enjoy every minute of it and it is just a way of living. What's the last book you read? "The Price of a Dream: The Story of the Grameen Bank," by David Bornstein. I believe that it is impor- tant for all of us to find something to commit to that is greater than one's own self interests. You can have a huge impact in many areas and all you have to do is try. When you tell someone you're a nurse, it's an immediate connection. — Elizabeth McLellan Elizabeth McLellan amongst the medical supplies in the distribution center at the Partners for World Health facility in Portland.

• Cover