Everyone knows about the medical situation in Haiti. They are currently lacking physicians and mainly surgeons there. For people who has been keeping updates – the current medical volunteers were asked to pick up their supplies and relocate or leave due to the riots.
One thing I know for sure is that Partners In Health is doing everything they can.
Here’s a piece that recently aired on Democracy Now, which is showing Evan Lyons from PIH giving a tour of the public hospital in Port-Au-Prince.
Currently, Harvard Medical School is offering a year four elective in Haiti through Partners in Health.
Also, the Real Medicine Foundation (RMF), has managed to arrange a private plane (thanks to Donna Karan!), which will be making regular trips to Port-Au-Prince, mostly out of NYC. On the ground, RMF will closely coordinate with PIH and will be staffing people in the Government Hospital in Port-Au-Prince and rural outposts around the capital and at key points on the DR border.
RMF is calling on MDs/Nurses and medical students who are seriously interested in going to submit their names. At this point, medical students are understandably not the top priority, but all names are going to be put into a register so that they can continue to plan the flights that will be continuing to depart for some time. Therefore, there is a strong likelihood that medical students will be needed soon and over the next few months and possibly beyond. PLEASE CIRCULATE THIS POST WIDELY TO YOUR NETWORKS!
If you are interested, please send the following to cmcquilling@gmail.com
Name, Medical School/Hospital, specialty if applicable, current year of training, dates of availability, French/Creole proficiency level, and one-liner about previous international/development experience. Please attach a CV if possible.
This a summary of the major areas of need:
Personnel: They need doctors and nurses who would be willing to volunteer their time and services for 1-2 weeks. They need people who would be ready to leave ASAP, but are trying to get as many people enlisted as possible to send over the next few months.
-ortho/trauma surgeons/nurses
-anesthesiologists/nurse anesthetists
-post-op nurses/and surgical technicians
-plus if speaking Creole or French and if experienced in disaster/relief environments
-medical students, as noted above
Supplies: They’re also trying to assemble the attached list of medical supplies. They’re looking for medical suppliers and/or hospitals who can help us source all of these materials quickly and who would also be interested in in-kind donations.
Lastly, cash. They’re going to need a lot of cash on hand to buy supplies in the states and in the DR to support the medical relief and also the doctors on the ground. Any fundraising leads are always appreciated!
For more information, check out their website or their blog, which Dr. Martina Fuchs and the RMF team in Haiti will be updating regularly.
