Since the earthquake of January 2010, the Cordtz family has become very involved with Hôpital Sacré Coeur. Days after the disaster, Sheila Kearney Cordtz was asked by fellow Malta member, Hope Carter, to help locate earthquake supplies in Florida and Georgia. Soon, the logistical advantages of having a team member closer to Ft Lauderdale and Miami, to get emergency supplies delivered to IBC Airways, on very short notice, became very clear.
Sheila immediately called on friends and family in south Florida and opened Palm Beach CRUDEM “Warehouses” and “Storage Depots” at the home and offices of generous fellow Malta members, Tim and June Rooney and Tom Quick. Everyone worked together receiving thousands of pounds of medical supplies which Sheila had ordered from vendors and suppliers all over the country. The express shipped supplies arrived in Palm Beach and were readied for next day flights with volunteer medical teams headed to Milot. By the time the cholera epidemic hit, this well-oiled, efficient supply chain ensured expeditious deliveries of all medicines and time-sensitive materials.
Carolyn Cordtz, the second of the six Cordtz children and a 2008 graduate from UVA’s School of Nursing, was midway through her very busy first year as an OR Nurse at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, GA when the earthquake hit. Seeing her mom and others scramble for equipment and supplies, Carolyn asked if she could volunteer. Her mother put her on the next plane bound for Cap Haitien.
Carolyn joined Dr. John Lovejoy, Jr. and Dr. John Lovejoy, III on a small supply plane. When she arrived at the hospital in Milot, a very seasoned OR Nurse introduced her around as the new “Head” OR Nurse. Carolyn thought she was kidding (as she was the truly the “low-man on the totem pole” back at Emory University Hospital.) Minutes later, when Carolyn saw the nurse head out to the airport with a group of medical volunteers, she realized, with a bit of horror, that she really was the Head OR Nurse! So began probably the greatest nursing adventure Carolyn would ever have in her career.
Later in 2010, Carolyn again returned to HSC, with the Lovejoy Jr Team, and prepares for another rotation with them in December 2011. The experiences at Sacré Coeur will be a part of Carolyn forever and she can’t imagine not making at least one visit a year there.
Jeff Cordtz, the devoted husband and father of the Cordtz Clan also joined in the CRUDEM/HSC efforts. Over the past two years, Jeff has served as truck driver, transporting cargo from Atlanta to South Florida, and has jumped in to man a variety of other roles in the supply chain.
Hôpital Sacré Coeur has been a family affair for the Cordtz’s and has blessed them with the gifts so many other volunteers have found and continue to find in Milot. Sheila sums up their family’s experience: “One often finds a peace of heart and mind in the simplicity of the gratitude and graciousness always displayed by Haitians.
Their Christ-like behavior, modeled by so many impoverished Haitians towards their fellow Haitians, inspires us all.”
