TENDENCY TO FORGET
We are all busy with our everyday lives and once the media turn off their spotlight it is easy to forget about the terrible tragedy in Haiti. If you are reading this update I know that you haven’t forgotten the continuing struggle of the Haitian people. If you are a volunteer that has been to Haiti I know that you will never forget the people you encountered.
I recently received an email from the Executive officer of the USCGC Tahoma who was asking about a patient that they rescued in Port au Prince and airlifted to Hopital Sacre Coeur. In order to fully appreciate this email you need to understand that in the first days after the earthquake the rescue effort was very confused. There were Coast guard and Navy ships and helicopters in Port au Prince but they didn’t know where to take the victims. There was no functioning government and even if there had been one, there was no list of Hospitals in the country with the capabilities of each hospital. Now picture Hopital Sacre Coeur, 70 miles from the epicenter, intact with a full Haitian staff and a volunteer staff of trauma surgeons and orthopedic surgeons ready and willing to save lives. Thanks to the internet and the persistence of volunteers in Haiti and the US a connection was made with the USCGC Tahoma. A landing zone was created in a soccer field and patients started arriving at Hopital Sacre Coeur.
One of the first patients was a patient who was initially left for dead by 2 corpsman from the CGC Mohawk. They had been triaging patients the first day after the earthquake and felt that this victim was so severely injured that he would not survive. However they couldn’t sleep that night thinking about him so at daybreak they returned and found him still alive and decided he would be the first patient they airlifted. On arrival at Hopital Sacre Coeur he was immediately taken to the OR where Dr Stephen Fletcher removed his entire arm including his shoulder saving his life. He is still in Milot fully recuperated and trying to deal with his disability. When we received the email we were able to let these brave corpsman know that they had saved another life and provided them with pictures of the smiling patient. (Note from Carol – Please see photos added to the bottom of this email.)
We are continuing to discharge patients and prepare amputees for our prosthetic lab. Our volunteers still number between 50 and 70 a week and although the acute care level is less the volunteers are able to keep busy providing compassionate care for our 250+ inpatients. Our physical therapists number about 10 a week and create a lively enthusiastic environment with patients walking and at times dancing. A first time volunteer and member of the board of councilors of the Order of Malta, Carol Less, who is a retired physical therapist, has been busy working with the patients and helping to create this positive environment.
Today there was a meeting at the UN for donors to help Haiti. Everyone realized that the need to help Haiti recover would approach 11 Billion Dollars but they were concerned with how to distribute the money. In view of the history of corrupt government in Haiti how could they disburse this amount of money and expect that it would be used appropriately.
As I listened to the news report I smiled because I knew that Hopital Sacre Coeur had solved this problem. As an institution that has existed for 24 years and has a total Haitian administration and whose mission has been to empower the Haitians to care for themselves, I knew that we had the solution to the problem all these donors faced. I have seen this solution applied daily since the earthquake and know that it will help us prepare for the future.
It is difficult for NGOs, which means non Haitian entities, to find the appropriate ways to help the Haitian people. We all tend to try to do it our way. Over the past 24 years we have learned that we can’t do it our way, we need to do it the Haitian way. Although our board governs the hospital, we have members of the Haitian administration on our board and never make decisions without their approval. For example, we have many renovation and building projects that need to be implemented since the earthquake. We have detailed long range plans to implement these renovations and additions. However our Haitian staff points out ways to improve care as we wait for the renovations and additions to occur. They know that in Haiti building takes time so if they can create simple solutions that require minimal construction and offer increased ability to provide care that’s what we do. It has been this collaboration that has allowed us to become the referral hospital that we are. It will allow us to grow into the hospital that we need to become in the future.
As we enter this last week of Lent and remember Christ’s suffering for us, let us remember the continued suffering of our brothers and sisters in Haiti and continue to keep them in our minds and prayers.
Blessings on this Easter,
Peter Kelly
