For Those Interested In Doing Relief Work in Haiti

INFORMATION PROVIDED BY:  Jonel Daphnis, MD, MPH

Greetings Everyone:

I hope this message finds you all in good health and spirits.

Dr. Henry Paul, the president of NOAH-NY, and I are pleased to announce
that the National Organization of the Advancement of Haitians - New
York Chapter (www.noahny.org). is actively seeking volunteer nurses,
doctors (internist, surgeons, critical care physicians, rehab, etc...),
translators, mental health specialist, rehab specialist and others down
to Haiti to volunteer in their field hospital located in the Taberre
section o f Port au Prince (GPS coordinates are 18.532967, - 72.246974)
servicing almost 300 patients daily as well on their mobile units
serving an additional 120 clients. My intentions are to be on the
ground for approximately four weeks starting Feb 8th.

If you are still interested in volunteering in Haiti please contact Dr.
Henry Paul or Ms. Jean Pascale at Dr. Henry Paul
<hpaulmd@aol.com> and Jean Pascale <pascalej@noahny.org>,
CC me at <fikrumpho@yahoo.com> on the message and include the
following in the email:

1) Your name
2) Your title/specialty
3) Dates you are available to volunteer
4) If you speak Haitian Creole
5) Date of Birth
6) Photo (head shot to produce a potential ID's while in Haiti)
7) Passport Number

Understand that you will more than likely be paying for your flight
down however NOAH will attempt to at least obtain a discount. You will
also be expected to pay for your meals. However NOAH will attempt to
obtain a group rate with a local business.It is advised that you bring
the list of items you'll find in part 2 of the attached document
section below.

If you want to learn more about what to expect when you head down, Dr.
Paul and I were on a WBAI's Global Medicine in Review this past
Wednesday and I co-hosted an interview of him where he described his
experiences. Feel free to visit the link to listen to the interview
here (http://archive.wbai.org/files/mp3/100127_120001gmr.MP3). Additionally you'll find in part 1 of the attached documents section
below a description of a typical work day as described by Drs. Janice
Desire and Natasha Saint Germain - two physicians who were also on the
initial trip with NOAH-NY and also so happen to be alum of my Alma
Mater (Ujamaa Residential College at Cornell University :)). Finally,
you can touch base with Dr. Paul or Ms. Pascale at the above emails if
you have further questions.

It's my hope and desire that you all will be able to find a way to give
of your self in Haiti. Haiti will need it and if you do find yourself
there you will find out that you also needed too.

Humbly yours,

Jonel Daphnis, MD, MPH
Clinical Research Instructor, PGY 3
Committee for Interns & Residents Delegate
Emergency and Internal Medicine Programs
Kings County Hospital Complex
University Hospital of Brooklyn

Attachments include:
1) Description of a typical day
2) NOAH's list of items to bring to Haiti

1) Here is our description of a typical volunteer work day:

6:30a Wake up and get prepared for the day. Volunteers reside at a park
(Bojeaux Parc, Tabarre) outside of Port au Prince where they live in
tents that can accommodate an average of 5-7 people. They can also
bring their own tents and must have sleeping bags. Breakfast typically
consisted of cereal bars or other pre-packaged foods that volunteers
bought themselves.

8:00a Set up and organize triage for the day and patients begin to
arrive. As well, if there were mobile medical teams planned to work in
the community, they would leave at this time with the local security
team.
A: Triage/Non-surgical care - Team consisted of translators,
registrars, runners, and physicians who assessed all patients and
facilitated initial management of care. Patients that required surgical
or higher acuity were referred by the medical staff to the acute care
section of the complex.
B: Surgical/ Intensive Care - team consisted of translators, nurses and
physicians. Care included wound debridments, amputations/orthopedic
care, labor & delivery and medical intensive care. Patients that
had long stays during the day or required overnight stays were managed
by this group as well. Additionally, they assessed for higher level of
care requiring transfer to outside hospitals.
C: Mobile Medical Teams - consisted of physicians, nurses, EMT,
translators, security and drivers. Bottles of water were loaded in the
car(fueled prior to arrival at park) in addition to 2-3 medical bags
with supplies for basic wound care, antibiotics and pain meds. Patients
were triaged in the field and those with high acuity were sent in a
separate patient transport vehicle back to Tabarre for evaluation.
D: Pharmacy - consisted of 2-3 volunteers that dispensed medications
and stocked the pharmacy. Typically new supplies came in daily.
E: "Ambassadors"-consisted of physicians and organization board members
who attended various meetings for rebuilding efforts and public health
concerns hosted by the UN and other groups. Additionally, were
responsible for procuring medical supplies and updating
administrators/government officials on day to day needs of aid
groups/citizens.

5:00p Medical care begins to wind down; Initiation of transport for
patients brought in by medical mobile groups or discharged from our
'hospital'. Finalizing transfers to outside hospitals

7:00p Routine wrap-up and daily clinic review/debriefing by all volunteers and administrators.

Misc:
Meals-consisted of a sandwich during earlier part of the day and hot
meal in the early evening. Late dinner often provided offsite by
Aimer Haiti.
Showers-graciously provided every 1-2days at the home of an Aimer Haiti member.

Please feel free to ask for an elaboration on anything mentioned here!

-Janice & Natasha

2) NOAH's HAITI EARTHQUAKE DISASTER RESPONSE
LIST OF THINGS TO BRING

You should travel as light as you can. It is however important to remember to brig non perishable food as cooked food might not be
suitable or not available at your assigned location of work.

• VM T-Shirt and Jacket (if you have them)
• PASSPORT
• Long-sleeve shirts (preferably cotton)
• Long pants – we suggest Dickies brand
• Hat or baseball cap
• Sunblock
• Sunglasses
• Insect Repellent
• Very sturdy shoes or boots
• Sensible shoes – comfortable for long standing stints.
• Iodine tablets or portable water filters to purify water
• Malaria prevention medication or tablets (chloroquine)
• Surgeon's masks/Breathing mask – filter (HOME DEPOT #9 HAS A FILTER)
• Hygiene supplies
• Baby wipes
• Sleeping bag or sleeping mat
• Personal First Aid Kit
• Rubber/latex gloves
• Thick working gloves
• Towel/hand cloth
• Flash light
• Cutlery
• Back pack
• Pens, paper, journal
• Plastic bags large and small for dirty stuff/storage
• Personal tent
• Mosquito net
• Camera and extra batteries and extra memory card.
• Protein bars and dry nuts, dry food that will not perish
• Vitamins and Salt and Potassium
• Electrolyte Tablets
• Jars of Vic Vapor Rub – Very important
• CASH – Credit Cards might not be useful.


NOTE: Many diseases are transmitted by mosquitoes in Haiti. After you
have visited a malaria-risk area in Haiti or the Dominican Republic,
continue taking for malaria medication for 4 weeks after leaving the
risk area.