Academic Health Centers Respond to the Crisis in Haiti

LSUHSC at Shreveport has a team of experts in wound management from our school of Allied Health in Haiti. This is a three member team led by Dean of Allied Health, Joe McCulloch. They are specialists in wound care management and are working 12 hour shifts seeing patients.
The University of South Alabama College of Medicines Center for Strategic Health Innovation and National Center for Disaster Medical Response has been deeply engaged in the Haitian relief efforts. Carl Taylor the Center’s Director, together with his coding team of James Muyiso and Joram Mwangi developed on their own time a collaboration hub for sharing requests for help and offers of assistance. That hub, found at http://h.xchlive.org provided a valuable tool during the early days of the event as logistics and communications were still being sorted out. In addition much of the Centers experience is in medical surge capacity management. The Center, with the permission and support of the Alabama Department of Public Health, built and delivered to the Health Cluster in Haiti, a Haitian version of its AIMS event management system. AIMS for Haiti found at http://h.aimslive.org originally acquired data from 142 health care centers in Haiti and incorporated it into the AIMS medical management format. Though not currently in use by the Health Cluster AIMS Haiti remains live and ready for use.
UNMC set to deploy second wave of volunteers to Haiti. The University of Nebraska Medical Center is preparing 12 more health care specialists to participate in its second deployment to Haiti. The volunteers – eight nurses, two physicians, one pharmacist and one physician assistant – are expected to leave for Haiti on Thursday on board University of Miami/MediShare Haiti flights.
The vaccination team of the Georgia-4 Disaster Medical Assistance Team, a Federal Emergency Management Agency designated team sponsored by the Medical College of Georgia, was deployed to Atlanta to help immunize relief workers traveling to Haiti. Additionally, Dr. Richard Schwartz, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine in the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine, and Dr. James J. James, director of the American Medical Association's Center for Public Health Preparedness and Disaster Response, co-presented a free webinar for health care professionals headed to Haiti. Participants received an overview of the earthquake disaster and an idea of what they will encounter, including public health risks and injuries.
Weill Cornell Medical College has a 30 year history of collaboration with the GHESKIO clinic in Port-au-Prince Haiti, the first institution in the world dedicated to the fight against HIV/AIDS. GHESKIO is located in the heart of Port-au-Prince, in one of the areas worst hit by the earthquake, and was badly damaged.
The center, founded in 1980 by Dr. Jean William Pape, Director of GHESKIO and Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, has provided free, continuous medical care to the people of Haiti since 1982. Prior to the disaster, the clinic served more than 100,000 patients.

In normal times, the GHESKIO clinic typically serves about 1,200 patients a day at its main location and 300 more at a satellite clinic near the U.S. Embassy. This week, the clinic saw more than 85% of its usual caseload while still caring for the thousands injured by the earthquake.

GHESKIO's role in earthquake relief has been documented by major media outlets, including NBC News and the Wall Street Journal. In addition, Weill Cornell is raising money to help support GHESKIO’s relief efforts. Media coverage, daily updates on our activities on the ground in Haiti, and a link to donate online can be found at WCMC’s Global Health Website (http://weill.cornell.edu/globalhealth)
At approximately 2:30 pm on Monday, January 25th “Penn Medicine Team One” – the first medical team from Penn Medicine to fly to Haiti to provide expert medical care – departed from the Philadelphia International Airport. The nine-member team was bid farewell by fellow colleagues shortly before boarding a bus for the airport and consisted of orthopaedic and trauma surgeons, anesthesiologists, critical medical and surgical care nurses, OR and peri-operative nurses, and OR technical specialists. The team expects to be in Haiti for approximately two weeks. Over 150 Penn Medicine faculty and staff have volunteered for the relief effort to date. Given the challenging situation in Haiti, the first team members were chosen because, in addition to their medical expertise, they had previous military, Foreign Service, or missionary work experience.
The Penn Medicine Team One team is going to a 200-bed hospital an hour outside of Port-au-Prince in Cange. In addition, faculty and staff across Penn Medicine worked hard throughout the weekend to identify and obtain critical equipment for this mission. Due to their dedication and diligence, 1,200 lbs of medical supplies were sent with the medical team. (Read more on Penn Medicine's effort)
Dr. Arthur S. Levine, Senior Vice Chancellor for Health Science and Dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, replied that UPMC recognizes that the recent earthquake in Haiti has caused tremendous damage and the country is in desperate need of aid. “We want to help, but also want to be absolutely certain that what we do is right and has the best, most lasting impact.”
- UPMC and others coordinated the rescue of 53 Haitian orphans who are now in the process of being evaluated and treated at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Video footage from this morning’s press conference, which took place following the rescue team’s return to Pittsburgh, may be found at the following website: http://www.upmc.com/MediaRelations/NewsReleases/2010/Pages/Rendell-and-UPMC-Rescue-Haitian-Orphans.aspx
USC/L.A. Team Reports From Haiti. A team of 10 Keck School trauma specialists, including trauma and orthopedic surgeons, anesthetists, emergency medicine and intensive care unit specialists, nurses and physician assistants traveled from Los Angeles to Miami on Jan. 16.
The next morning, the team flew from Fort Lauderdale to Port-au-Prince on a private jet provided in partnership with Project Medishare Haiti and the Miami Global Institute. Upon arrival in Port-au-Prince, the team consulted with University of Miami colleagues who are currently staffing a field hospital within the United Nations compound at the Port-au-Prince airport.
Asif Hamid, oral surgeon based at the Charing Cross Campus of Imperial College AHSC, is being deployed as a member of a 10 man medical disaster response team from Humanity First, United Kingdom to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. They will be joined by a 12 member team from the USA and Canada in a collaborative effort with the UN to provide as much medical help as possible. Amongst the services they will be able to offer will include acute medicine, trauma with mobile theatre facilities and maxillofacial trauma. It is anticipated that they will be able to see several thousand patients during their stay there. Among the challenges they will face include a destroyed infrastructure, logistics, lack of clean water, shortage of fuel and a hostile environment. They leave on Friday the 22nd of January taking over 1.5 tonnes of medicines and equipment with them.
In response to the devastating situation in Haiti and of the close ties between Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) and Haiti, MSM has established a fund to help provide aid to the people of Haiti. Since the announcement of the fund, in just 5 days, $3,275 in donations has been raised.

MSM is coordinating efforts with the American Red Cross for physician volunteers. MSM has plans to partner with the National Dental Association on collecting clothing and supplies. A blood drive also is being planned.
In response to the devastating earthquake in Haiti, the Stanford University School of Medicine, the Department of Medicine and Stanford Hospital & Clinics have offered the medical center community a dollar-for-dollar challenge grant of $25,000 to support relief efforts there.

The funds will support patient care at Hopital Albert Schweitzer (HAS) in Port-au-Prince, which withstood the Jan. 12 quake and is functioning as a major treatment center for mass casualties. It remains one of the few institutions providing care for the many thousands of individuals injured in the calamity.

Stanford has also assembled a team to go to Hati. (Watch Video here.)
Based upon their longstanding relationships with the country of Haiti, Loma Linda University is keeping close touch with personnel there and has established a fund for concerned faculty, students, staff, and alumni to provide donations to re-build resources and facilitate the work of the Hopital Adventiste d’Haiti.
Dr. Jean E. Robillard, Vice President for Medical Affairs for University of Iowa Health Care indicates that a tremendous out-pouring of support and desire to be of assistance has occurred in the wake of this disaster. He stated that “We want to assure that this support gets to the places where it can best be utilized quickly.” He said that the entire University community is working together to develop a centralized approach that will direct faculty, staff and students to make contributions to well-established international relief organizations, such as the Red Cross and Doctors without Borders, that have already mobilized to aid the Haitian people. In addition, clinicians with prior experience in Haiti have volunteered their assistance and are being encouraged to contact one of the recognized relief organizations to arrange for transportation and other logistical needs.
The University of Miami has placed a team on the ground, led by Chairman of Neurological Surgery Dr. Barth Green, and is working with the South Florida Hospital Association to collect medical supplies that are urgently needed as well as to provide a mechanism for faculty and staff to be able to volunteer.
Dr. John (Skip) Williams, Provost and VP for Health Affairs at The George Washington University, reports the GW emergency medicine physicians have deployed with the Fairfax Urban Search and Rescue Team, and that others will follow as needed.
The University of Nebraska Medical Center, led by Dr. Harold Maurer, has indicated that their Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Dr. Rubens Pamies, a native of Haiti, and Dr. Ayman El-Mohandes, Dean of the College of Public Health, are in the process of developing a centralized plan for relief efforts.
Dr. Ora Pescovitz, Executive Vice President for Health Affairs and CEO of the University of Michigan Health System, indicates that the University of Michigan Health System is also mobilizing its efforts to respond swiftly, with their Chief Operating Officer, Tony Denton, serving as the official contact for this effort.
Dr. David Ramsay, President of the University of Maryland, Baltimore, notes that a shock trauma team has been assembled and is working with the US Air Force and is either en route or on the ground at present. He also points out that they have a PEPFAR project in Haiti, involving teams of physicians, nurses, and public health educators in HIV/AIDS, but they have not yet been successful in contacting them.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Clinical Care Transport program is on the national stand-by list and is awaiting orders, according to Dr. Robert Rich, Senior VP and Dean.
Dr. Robert Grossman, Dean and CEO of NYU Langone Medical Center, reports that NYU has reached out to its Medical Center community offering their own and local resources to help with the emotional aspects of the disaster, including rallies to organize food, clothing drives, and donations.
SUNY Downstate Medical Center is home to the largest Haitian population outside of Haiti, according to Dr. John LaRosa, President. They have responded by offering expanded counseling for students, faculty, and staff on a 24/7 basis in two locations as well as an open forum in their Alumni Auditorium. They are also working in the larger community in Brooklyn with team members who are fluent in Kreyol and French, and working with other New York area agencies to coordinate and develop relief responses.
Upstate Medical University in Syracuse has initiated a relief drive through the Office of Community Outreach and Global Health education and the University’s Council for Employee Volunteerism, according to Dr. David Smith, President. A group of Upstate students who recently returned from Haiti are spearheading this effort.
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences has activated its disaster response components including: the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress (CSTS), the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, and the Departments of Military and Emergency Medicine, Preventive Medicine, and Psychiatry – all of which support Department of Defense first responders, as well as the population. The CSTS is coordinating with other responding parts of the federal government including the CDC, the Department of State, as well as academic partners. In addition, the USNS Comfort, one of two hospital ships used by the Navy to support humanitarian and disaster relief missions, is being mobilized and sent to Haiti this weekend staffed from the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, one of USU’s academic health centers.
The University of Florida and Shands Health System is organizing a team of medical and public health faculty to assist the Christianville Community in the town of Gressier, about 6 miles west of the epicenter of the earthquake. The clinic in Gressier has been leveled, but the physicians and nurses are okay and have asked for medical personnel and medical supplies. A team of 8 individuals will leave for Haiti as soon as they can arrange transportation.

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Academic Health Centers Respond to the Crisis in Haiti