A US Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT), including about 70 physicians, arrived in Haiti earlier this week to increase the number of health care professionals on hand to provide medical care to earthquake victims. CBS News medical consultant, Jennifer Ashton, MD, reported that treating patients with “infections from crush injuries” was the biggest challenge in the earthquake ravaged region of Haiti.
In North Carolina, medical ministries, church groups and relief agencies continued to collect donations of supplies and began shipping them via military cargo planes, commerial flights, or using smaller aircraft flown by volunteer pilots. In Haiti, the number of patients requiring medical attention continued to exceed available manpower and supplies, with fears that disease and infection would increase until enough resources were on hand to meet the overwhelming need that remains in Haiti’s most populated region.
Smithfield, NC physician, Steven Landau, MD spent the week preparing to join colleagues with AMURT (Ananda Marga Universal Relief Team)—Haiti, which is treating 100-150 patients a day, with limited supplies, food and water. The clinic presently is staffed with one EMT, several nurses and 3 Chilean doctors. Dr. Landau is scheduled to fly to Haiti on Saturday, with another physician and a nurse. He plans to stay for a week and says the clinic will need rotating doctors and nurses for continued care. More information about AMURT is available at http://www.amurt.us/, http://www.amurtel.org/, or http://www.amurt.net/. AMURT and AMURTEL USA have provided relief work in Haiti for more than 20 years and operate the Give Your Heart to Haiti campaign to collect donations and recruit volunteers. Dr. Landau says any physician or other health care provider wanting to help can contact him at [email protected] or by phone, 919-868-4729.
Durham-based Family Health Ministries is treating patients at its clinics in Haiti and providing updates on its web site, http://www.familyhm.org/, where you can also find links concerning donations and other ways you can help.
Horne Memorial United Methodist Church in Clayton, NC has been collecting medical supplies and equipment and shipping them to Haiti. More details at http://www.hornememorial.org/.
CDC Guidance for Relief Workers and Others Traveling to Haiti for the Earthquake Response is found at: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/content/news-announcements/relief-workers-haiti.aspx.
Please visit the Haiti Relief Update section on the NCMS web site, https://www.compassionatecarenc.org/, for more links and information about how you can help.
