Intense Heat, Mosquitos, and Unsafe Drinking Water Test EP in Haiti

By Jon Virkler, MD   Arrival in Haiti was a stark contrast from departure in Miami.   I had my passport scanned by an electronic sensor and rode two moving sidewalks and a train to gate D55 in Miami. I deplaned in Haiti at one of the two gates at the only international airport in the country, walked down the steps from the airplane onto the tarmac, and got onto a standing-room-only bus that took us to customs. Our bags arrived on the only baggage carousel in the airport.   The airport in Haiti.   We left the airport as a group, and fought through the throng of porters hoping for a tip of one or two American dollars, packing into the back of two Land Rovers. We drove past streets lined with shops and tap-taps — pickup trucks as taxis — and pulled into the gates of Hospital Bernard Mevs after passing by the guards armed with shotguns.   Guards at the gate of Hospital Bernard Mevs.   Hospital Bernard Mevs is one of many in Port-au-Prince, most of which are run through relief organizations or Doctors Without Borders. Bernard Mevs is supported by the University of Miami, and staffed by a mix of volunteers and Haitian staff. The Haitian staff was incredibly willing to learn and eager to have American involvement. Haitian nursing and medical students were also on hand.   The hospital itself had a triage shanty (three walls and some curtains), a two-bed ED, a four-bed ICU, a nine-bed medical-surgical unit, and a 10-bed spinal cord unit. A separate pediatr...
Source: Going Global - Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs