Officials involved in relief efforts for earthquake victims in Haiti are starting to transition from short-term to longer-term recovery initiatives. Meanwhile, scores of physicians and other health care professionals continue to provide care in less than ideal conditions, while airlifts bring the most serious cases to hospitals in the U.S.
A 12-year-old Haitian boy named Carlen, who was injured in the quake, is recovering from hand surgery donated by physicians William R. Sutton, MD, and Craig A. Rineer, MD, at New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington. Carlen’s family is staying with Dr. Sutton’s family. The parents plan to return to Haiti in early March to help in Port au Prince. Carlen and his sister, Farah, are enrolled in school in Wilmington and will remain living with the Suttons until the end of the school year. Carlen’s hand is doing well, and he is undergoing therapy three times a week. Read more about Carlen’s story in this news release from New Hanover Regional Medical Center.
Recovery work involving Greg Murphy, MD, a urologist from Greenville, NC, was featured in a report that aired February 8 on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. Dr. Murphy is one of at least ten Pitt County Memorial Hospital Physicians and nurses who have worked in Haiti. See the story at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/#35303440. A longer interview with Dr. Murphy appeared on the NBC Nightly News website: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/#35302473.
WRAL-TV in Raleigh is airing reports of work being done by physicians and nurses from Duke University Medical Center. See the latest report at: http://www.wral.com/news/national_world/world/haiti/video/7009692/.
Family physician Stephen Landau, MD, who recently returned to Smithfield, NC, after spending a week in Haiti, is planning a return trip to Haiti and is looking for physicians and nurses who might like to accompany him. He can be contacted at [email protected] or at 919-284-4149.
The Charlotte Business Journal recently reported that Carolinas HealthCare is sending medical teams to Haiti through an agreement with the U.S. Read the story at http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2010/02/01/daily38.html?s=du&ed=2010-0.
New York Times writer Milt Freudenheim reported in the February 9, 2010 issue on how telemedicine is helping provide care to patients in Haiti. Read the story at: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/09/health/09tele.html?nl=health&emc=healthupdateema1.
More information about the Haitian relief effort can be found at www.ncmedsoc.org.
