Reporter Damien Chambers chronicled the work of Asheville hand surgeon Christopher Lechner, MD, who was part of four surgical teams recently sent to Haiti by Park Ridge Hospital in Fletcher, NC.  Read the story, Asheville surgeon back from Haiti, urges others to volunteer, which was published in the April 30, 2010 issue of the Asheville Citizen-Times.  

More than 600 Fort Bragg paratroopers began returning from Haiti this week. The soldiers were deployed in January to assist with shelters, security, debris removal and facilitation of medical treatment, which included direct care to some sick and injured and evacuating others who required more acute care. Henry Cunningham, Military Editor for the Fayetteville Observer, highlighted the mission of the “White Falcon” battalion in a story published on April 28, 2010. 

US intelligence analysts predict Haiti will require humanitarian assistance and relief from the international community for years to come as a result of the earthquake and previous natural disasters during the past decade.  The assessment comes in an unclassified report, Haiti: Health Risks and Health System Impacts Associated with Large-Scale Earthquake, produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). Officials are particularly concerned that the damage to the Haiti health system could lead to unrest and potential mass migration.