Report from Port au Prince
January 26th, 2010
On Tuesday, January 19 five past volunteers from Team Canada and Healing Hands for Haiti left Canada and USA to join a Handicap International response team on the ground in Port au Prince. The five members, lead by Dr. Colleen O’Connell included specialists in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Prosthetics, Orthotics, Physical Therapy, and Occupational Therapy. All have been working diligently to assist in coordinating the care of the many newly disabled patients resulting from the January 12 earthquake.
One of the first duties was to assess the condition of the Healing Hands for Haiti medical campus. Upon inspection by an expert it was deemed that all buildings are uninhabitable at this time. The guesthouse where the teams stay is still standing and in the best shape, but will require significant repairs. Other buildings are completely destroyed or are well on the way to toppling. It is with a heavy hearts that we must report that two tenants in the apartment building did not survive its collapse. All of us at Team Canada HealingHands extend our deepest sympathies to their families.
Click to read an account by orphanage staff and residents of the earthquake and its aftermath in Jacmel
The Handicap International (HI) team then turned their attention to gathering data regarding types and numbers of injuries to ensure the HI response will meet the needs for the patient population. The Therapists started individual patient data collection, early treatment and training and giving supplies, while the others gathered detailed general data collection from hospitals – aiming to visit all hospitals in the area. The goal is to determine current and longer term needs, types of diagnoses, etc.
As news reports have stated and the research confirms, the numbers of amputations are staggering. In addition the team has seen dozens of traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries. All patients in most hospitals (or most patients in all hospitals) are outside in virtual tent cities of wards– buildings are mostly not safe or only parts of hospitals are safe. Patients are also too scared to go inside. General Hospital is a tangled network of many independent NGOs and military and government agencies.
