News from the Front line

[bcholmes]

Partners in Health:

Wednesday morning, a strong aftershock earthquake rocked Port-au-Prince, temporarily shutting down operations at the general hospital in Port-au-Prince, as well as several other PIH sites outside the city. Since then additional smaller quakes continue to disrupt efforts on the ground.

Here's a quick update on our work in Haiti despite these challenges.

PIH's surgical teams continue to race against time to provide surgical care to earthquake victims in Port-au-Prince. Operating rooms at the central general hospital (HUEH) in Port-au-Prince are fully operational again after being temporarily evacuated on yesterday in response to the aftershock. PIH is still coordinating the relief efforts at HUEH and reports having 12 operating rooms opened 24 hours per day. Across the country, we have a total of 20 operating rooms up and running.

To date, PIH has sent 22 plane loads with 144 medical volunteers - orthopedic surgeons, anesthesiologists, surgical nurses and other medical professionals - and several thousand pounds of medical supplies to support the more than 4,500 PIH health care providers already in Haiti.

Despite these accomplishments, our teams throughout the country continue to report a great need for additional medicines (antibiotics, anesthesia and narcotics), medical equipment (anesthesia machines and x-rays), medical supplies (IVs, tubing, irrigating saline), and water.

"There are very sick people and too little space and time," reported PIH Women's Health Coordinator Sarah Marsh from our hospital in St. Marc. She added that we will lose more patients to infection in the coming days if we don't find additional medications, and explained that is only for lack of supplies - not patients - that the surgical team risks performing more operations. A volunteer orthopedist also working from St. Marc stressed that we will need full medical teams on site to manage dressings, skins grafts and other post operative care for another 6-8 weeks.

Sopudep school:

Just two days ago, at day eight, starvation in SOPUDEP's area (as I'm sure is the same in the rest of the city) started to take a real [toll]. The generosity of a local grocer is now ensuring at least some are staving off hunger. Réa, because she has bought from him for the duration of the school's food program has developed a good working relationship with this vendor and he has given food to Réa on credit. 150 to 250 are being fed right now, but countless others could be included with some cash.

We are working on paying down that credit so she can continue to expand her food program. Right now we can only send down $500 a day through Western Union, but once the limit is lifted and the banks are open we hope that with your support we can expand the food program. This is just the beginning of this crisis!!!

[...]

We do know some numbers now! Twenty one students and two teachers have been confirmed dead and many more are still missing.

I travelled with Réa just before the disaster, and she's pretty incredible.

MSF:

On their first day in the capital MSF mobile clinics located around 200 patients who needed help cleaning their wounds, changing dressings, putting in stitches or getting more specialized care in one of MSF's hospitals. In areas around Léogâne and Grand-Goâve MSF teams identified dozens of injured people who needed surgical care and referred them to hospitals.

In one of the poorest parts of Port-au-Prince, the Cité Soleil slum, MSF is performing up to 30 surgical operations a day, including an increasing number of people being admitted with injuries caused by bullets or machetes. Though tension is rising in the area, the number of violence-related injuries is still relatively low, with an average of only three a day. Marie-Christine Ferir, one of MSF's emergency coordinators, says that this must be seen in perspective. "Well before this earthquake, this was a very deprived area with many social problems and a history of violence. Clearly, tensions will be further amplified by the stresses from this quake."

and:

Every functional operating theatre is being used night and day, while logistical staff are racing to set up new ones or rehabilitate damaged ones. MSF surgical teams have been carrying out an average of 130 operations per day for the last few days and this is increasing as new surgical teams start work. There are now 10 operating theatres, seven in Port-au-Prince hospitals (Choscal, Trinité, Carrefour and Chancerelle hospitals) and three in towns in the west of the capital (Léogâne and Jacmel). In addition, minor surgical procedures like cleaning and removing dead tissue from wounds are taking place in small operating theatres in Trinité and Pacot hospitals.

Capacity will continue to increase as additional operating theatres are being set up in Port-au-Prince and in the west of the island in Léogâne and Grand-Goâve. MSF is setting up an inflatable hospital with two operating theatres and 100 beds on a field in Port-au-Prince. The team expect to have it functioning Friday morning.

It's taken a while for international aid to get into areas like Site Soley and Kalfou; I'm glad that groups like MSF seem to be leading, here.