Haiti updates

A note from Richard Wolfe, chief of our Emergency Department, with an inside view of things going on here, there, and elsewhere:

Aftershock this morning at 6.1 just west of Port au Prince. Apparently minimal damage as all that could fall down went down with the big one.

BIDMC is ready to field a new team but we are still waiting for the specifics from the field. At present we have over 90 volunteers, most of whom have been oriented, inoculated, and if they go, provided with the needed supplies and gear.

David Callaway is at a hospital in Jimini, just over the border in the Dominican Republic. He is completing the needs assessment and formulating what our next response should be. He is working closely with the Dominican government who supports our project to work out of the border hospital. There is a short note from him this morning below and we are waiting for a more detailed communication later today. We think this may be the best and most likely place for us to engage.

No further call in the last 2 days for volunteers from Partners in Health although they have said they expect needing staff soon.

We are in contact with the D-mat teams out of Worcester, anticipate that they may soon need help, and they are aware of our support.

We are reaching out to the Israelis who we have heard may soon be needing more personnel to see if they would be interested in working with us.

We have partnered with Denver Health who has 60 volunteers and is willing to have us coordinate for them.

We have made contact with Caritas who reportedly is helping to staff the ship Hope and is tied in with the Order of Malta. They are aware of our resources and will reach out to us with any needs.

Rich

-----Original Message-----
From: Callaway,David W. (BIDMC - Emergency Medicine) Limited access but have longer one to send. DR has disaster management needs. good ED medical needs as they just have rotating surgeons, no ED style system. we are trying to set one up. limited viz on haiti- i sent a team member yesterday and she is coming back today.

dc
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I did hear from Dan Nadworny last evening via texting.... Over all, he is doing ok - he said it is the most traumatic scene he has ever witnessed. He is set up in a soccer field, with his IMSURT team of MDs and RNs...working in medical tents - the field is protected by armed Marines as there are many people trying to steal antibiotics and pain medication from the tents. He said on average they are doing about 5 OR cases in his tent alone per day. He is hoping to connect with Dave Callaway there - I asked him for a more detailed update for communications, but this is all he could text. His signal is not good - so we are getting spotty messages from him. I told him all of us are thinking about him and praying for his safe return.

Kirsten Boyd