CURE Medical Team in Haiti   (Please note, I have provided updates below as I hear of them!)

Today (14/1/2010), a team of five CURE personnel are scheduled to fly to Haiti from the CURE hospital in neighbouring Dominican Republic.

They are:
Dr. Scott Nelson, orthopaedic surgeon; Dr. Dielika Charlier, a paediatrician and Haitian; Lucia Hernandez, a nurse; Susan Beemer, nurse anaesthetist; and Steve Bostian, CURE’s director in the Dominican Republic.

Once they land in the country, they’ll establish a base at the home of Dr. Charlier’s mother and co-ordinate with organizations on the ground to provide medical care to Haitians.  The situation is very dire at the moment, so their expertise is desperately needed.

The plane will also be carrying medical equipment.

A US Company has generously donated a large gas generator, a lorry load of food, water and medical supplies in support of CURE's relief efforts in the short term. Obviously we will need to get more supplies as soon as possible.

We hope to be in touch with our team once they are in the country and will provide updates as they come in.

 

---Update 15/1/2010---

Here is the latest from the Haiti Relief Team…

After safely flying into the city of Port-au-Prince, the team established a base in the city.   They are working in cooperation with the UN, USAID and other organizations.

They have located a functioning hospital and are preparing to treat the patients in need of surgery.

---Update 16/1/2010---

The Haiti Relief Team has set up shop at the Hopital du la Comunaute Haitienne in Port-au-Prince.  They have been working nonstop to save as many lives as possible.  The biggest challenge right now is gangrene has set in with patients.  

Additional relief workers and supplies are flying into Haiti. Once they are in the country, they’ll join the CURE relief team.  Other teams are currently being mobilized.

Supplies are being sent from a number of different sources and the CURE hospital in the Dominican Republic is sending supplies both in the air and on land.

We’d like to send a special thanks to the Boulos family, who has been hosting the medical team.  They’ve also been a tremendous help in arranging logistics.

 

---Update 17/1/2010---

Four planes bringing relief teams and supplies have landed in Haiti.  The team, which included nine doctors and nine nurses along with much-needed supplies, landed yesterday.

CURE now has two functioning surgical centres in two hospitals operating around the clock in Port-au-Prince.

We heard from Steve Bostian, one of the team members on the ground in Haiti.  He says the team is working with very little sleep, trying to save as many lives as possible. The new doctors and nurses have proven to be a God-send. There is a network of bilingual Haitian logistics workers who are also assisting the team.

He also reports that the men and women in the heroic search and rescue teams throughout the city continue to find people alive in the rubble.

Sadly, there is also intense suffering, and supplies are running low in the city.

CURE is co-ordinating additional teams for next week along with some desperately needed supplies. We intend to remain in Port au Prince even after the immediate crisis phase has past. There will be continue to be a huge medical need for many months.

 

---Update 19/1/2010---

Creating organization from chaos

The CURE team on the ground in Port au Prince is not only bringing life-saving care to hundreds of injured Haitians, but they are also helping to organize and facilitate the work of other medical groups and volunteers. With no centralized coordination in place, the team has been key to getting operating theatres up and running.

We were able to get the second team mobilized to a different hospital. They immediately got to work and divided an open room into three operating theatres, created a theatre in an open hallway and turned a radiology room into a theatre. In just 48 hours, this team performed over 300 operations, including 40 amputations and applied more than 100 casts.

More teams on the way

People continue to step up to respond to the crisis. In the next few days, CURE will be sending more than 25 medical professionals and a substantial amount of donated orthopedic equipment and supplies. These teams will relieve our very weary team members who have been on the ground since last Thursday.

CURE will meet ongoing medical needs

While CURE was one of the first to arrive in Haiti, we will not be the first to leave. The medical needs are staggering – hundreds of thousands are injured and are in need of care. Throughout the upcoming weeks and months, CURE will provide care from a local community hospital in Haiti and hopefully, will also be able to care for patients at our hospital in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

The effects of the earthquake on Haiti are massive and our response must be equally substantial. We estimate that our relief efforts in Haiti will cost $500,000.

Thank you to everyone so far who has donated to the CURE relief effort.  We are very grateful for your support!

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to us and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer.  It’s the most efficient way to donate, especially at short notice like this.

So please dig deep and donate now, we really need your money to enable this team to save as many lives as possible.