Mission to Haiti: Update week 1

Planning for Haiti: week 1

Exactly 1 week ago, I agreed to go to Haiti on a humanitarian mission.  Given a little experience in Vietnam and Afghanistan, I thought I had the skills to help. The difference was that in those missions, a preexisting infrastructure of care and healthcare delivery had already been established.  So the challenge was to build the medical team that could make a difference in Haiti, just 3 weeks after the earthquake.

The response was immediate and complete.  Of course Minh Nguyen, MD, was on board. He started the whole effort in the first place.  His interest started when he rode his bicycle across the country to raise money for charity.  He ran into Project Help Haiti and knew it was a good cause with good infrastructure. As a chief resident at the Ohio State University, he is at the pinnacle of his knowledge of Orthopedics.  Working on a daily basis in a level 1-trauma center, there is little he hasn’t seen or hasn’t done.

David Kasserman MD.  General Surgeon volunteered after only 6 hours of contemplation.  After training in New York City, he has amassed a ton of experience with both rural and urban general surgical emergencies.  Well regarded in at least 4 different hospitals., he’ll bring expertise to abdominal trauma and injuries.

Amy Bush RN serves currently as the VP of Operations at Dublin Methodist Hospital.  A former critical care nurse with experience in mission work in the Caribbean and well as travel experience through China, travel into inhospitable environments are not foreign to her.   In addition, she has an MBA!

Regina Chen, RN is probably one of our best PeriOperative nurses.  She knows the ins and outs of getting patients ready for surgery and getting them through surgery. With little equipment in Haiti, she’ll be able to put her resourcefulness to the test.

And finally, Ed Chen, MD.  Chief of Anesthesia at Dublin Methodist Hospital.  I’ve known Ed since he was a resident at Ohio State University.  Even then he was an agile clinician who found physiology more interesting than the mundane world of surgery.  He got even better as he got specialized training at the Cleveland Clinic.  With a recent trip from Africa under his belt, he’ll be our best asset on the trip.

Logistical planning into a disaster zone is difficult.  There are no commercial flights to Haiti currently.  Landing slots are tightly controlled.  We were able to get clearance for our mission dates of February 13 to 20 through Project CARE.  With a lot of pleading through Facebook and Twitter we were able to acquire a jet.  But with every victory, there is a little loss, and we found out the pilots who have been shuttling teams nonstop have reached their monthly quota of flight time.  We may have a jet, but we don’t have a pilot.  Our search continues.

In addition, the xray machine, which was marginally operational, finally broke.  Again with more pleading and begging on Facebook and Twitter, we found a mini-C arm. With a weight of almost 900 lbs, we face the challenge of shipping it down to Haiti.

Interest from the orthopedic community remains high despite negative reports from some of the earlier missions.  Ruth Thomas MD from Little Rock, head of the Humanitarian Committee of the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society is beginning to plan her own mission 3 weeks following ours.  Rob Veith, MD, my teammate from a Vietnam mission is flying to the Dominican Republican and plans to get to Haiti overland!  Mark Slovenkai, MD, another surgeon with Vietnam background is considering a mission shortly. Joao De Carvalho Neto, MD

But the greatest interest comes from our friends, families, and neighbors.  I get daily volunteers willing to join.  Regardless of skills, there is a great sense of desire to come into a dangerous region and just help.  Pretty inspiring.

We’ll be evaluating all of our donated medical supplies this week.  Hopefully finalize flight plans.  With continued contact with teams 1,2, and now 3 (leaving today), we’ll try to define our medical goals in the coming days. We’ll keep you up to date through Twitter, Facebook, and this blog. I anticipate the chaos to only get worse with time.

Immunizations now up to date.

My thoughts after a week revolves around the many offers to help.  Volunteerism seems to be a root element of our culture.  It is yet another aspect of our community that we can be proud of.