begging

[greenv]

We're a small Hospital, we've been having a very hard time financially for over 5 years. Competition is the main cause, we have 2 large hospitals within 10 miles and 5 within 25 miles.
Because of the financial difficulties, my systems, (Servers, PCs) are antiquated, it's embarrassing , but my Compaq Servers are still Pentium 2s and all my workstations are HP Vectras from 1996.

Would it be okay to solicit School Districts, Local Government, and large companies for spare or unused equipment?
If yes, what steps would you take, (ie call their I.T. dept, have our COO/CFO contact their Administration offices)

Do you all know of any I.T. Grants that possibly exist for small hospitals?

Any and all help is appreciated. Thank you.

Verde

 

[edfair]

Probably not worth wasting your time with government and schools. They are constrained by law on the disposal. But it might be a good idea to get on their bid list for surplus equipment as they generally put their equipment up for bid when it is replaced.
Where are you located? You may get some local people on the board that can give you guidance.
Corporations are a better source if your hospital is serving the community well.
I have a supplier that bids on surplus from the school systems and governments in the Atlanta area. He ended up with 500 machines that he would make a profit on at $4.00 each. This was about 2 years ago and is used as an example of what happens if you are at the right place and able to take advantage of it.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[franklin97355]

A lot of school districts are in the same shape you are. Our district still has vectra 4/66's in use. Not many but still....

 

[Grenage]

You may have some success in striking a deal with a company, computers in exchange for advertising etc. I've seen similar scheme where a school received older machines in exchange for pictures/advertising material. Being a hospital I imagine there is scope for some good press!


Carlsberg don't run I.T departments, but if they did they'd probably be more fun.

 

[eyec]

until your financial situation turns around (suggest you have a fundraiser dinner) it may be better to ensure that what you have is secure and well maintained.

i don't mean to sound harsh, but i am a member of a non-profit association as well and we depend on donations and fundraisers for our funds to operate. fundraising can be the best choice if you spell out exactly what you are raising the funds for.

good luck.

 

[lespaul]

a quick Google search of

Hospital IT Grant

turned up this page:

http://ruralhealth.hrsa.gov/ship.htm

not sure how "small", small is, but I'm sure you can find others. There are even profession grant writers who for a small fee will write the grant for you.

Leslie

Anything worth doing is a lot more difficult than it's worth - Unknown Induhvidual

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