 AmeriCares Relief Workers in Haiti. Pictured (L to R) Rachel Granger, Bret McEvoy, Carol Shattuck and Brian Hoyer
AmeriCares Team Quickly Responds to Alarming Spread of Cholera in Haiti
Penny Crump 11/15/10 Deadly cholera is on the move in Haiti, killing more than 1,000 and threatening the many thousands of vulnerable earthquake survivors crowded in makeshift camps in and around the devastated capital of Port-au-Prince. AmeriCares Haiti team is working around the clock, immediately responding to a significant upsurge in requests from hospitals and clinics in affected areas for new stocks of rehydration solutions, antibiotics and other essential cholera relief supplies. AmeriCares partners are reporting an alarming increase in patients, filling hospitals way beyond capacity with reportedly more than 15,000 confirmed cases across six regions. “Your shipment arrived just in time,” said one health care provider. “We are seeing more patients than ever before, and we had nearly run out of supplies. Please, keep them coming.” Special cholera treatment centers are being set up to handle the fast growing number of people desperately seeking treatment. “AmeriCares is taking a major role in supporting the Ministry of Health’s fight against the disease by keeping the treatment centers well stocked with critical medicines and medical supplies, “said Christoph Gorder, AmeriCares SVP of Global Programs. “With our latest emergency airlift of 90,000 pounds of cholera medicines in place, we are able to dispatch supplies rapidly to meet the escalating need of a population with little natural immunity to the disease.” To help stop the spread of the disease through water and food contaminated by human waste, an AmeriCares delivery of 2 million sachets of water purification treatment is arriving in Port-au-Prince on Monday, November 15. The treatment will purify 5.5 million gallons of water, providing 20,000 families with safe drinking water for weeks. Not only are cholera and other deadly bacteria in the water killed by the solution, but it also removes other impurities. More cholera relief supplies are already in the AmeriCares pipeline including a new emergency air shipment of medicines from Stamford scheduled for immediate delivery and a full sea container of cholera relief supplies that will head out this week and reach Haiti in about four days. In addition, 250,000 units of oral rehydration salts have been ordered to restock the Haiti warehouse. When news of the outbreak first emerged, AmeriCares began delivering critical medical aid to combat cholera to healthcare providers on the front lines within 24 hours of the reported outbreak. As part of AmeriCares emergency preparedness plans in Haiti, essential medical supplies to combat cholera and other waterborne illnesses were already stocked in Port-au-Prince and a network of partners was in place and connected to ensure that the right life-saving supplies could reach those in need in time. AmeriCares has already delivered over $35 million in aid to Haiti to help survivors of the devastating January 2010 earthquake. AmeriCares has been working in Haiti since 1984, delivering medicines and supplies to health care providers throughout the country. Those deep roots have enabled our emergency response team to navigate the challenging environment and overcome distribution issues in order to increase access to medicines for the Haitian people in both rural and urban areas.
AmeriCares Team Quickly Responds to Alarming Spread of Cholera in Haiti Penny Crump 11/15/10 Deadly cholera is on the move in Haiti, killing more than 900 and threatening the many thousands of vulnerable earthquake survivors crowded in makeshift camps in and around the devastated capital of Port-au-Prince. AmeriCares Haiti team is working around the clock, immediately responding to a significant upsurge in requests from hospitals and clinics in affected areas for new stocks of rehydration solutions, antibiotics and other essential cholera relief supplies. AmeriCares partners are reporting an alarming increase in patients, filling hospitals way beyond capacity with more than 14,000 confirmed cases across six regions. “Your shipment arrived just in time,” said one health care provider. “We are seeing more patients than ever before, and we had nearly run out of supplies. Please, keep them coming.” Read More » Impact in Haiti: AmeriCares Team Responds to Hurricane Tomas and Cholera Brian Hoyer, Michelle Jackson 11/09/10 Brian Hoyer and Michelle Jackson share news from AmeriCares relief efforts in Haiti. Hurricane Tomas and the continuing cholera outbreak have caused more suffering for Haiti’s beleaguered families. It’s also created more challenges for relief workers – demanding their attention from one side of the devastated nation to the other. The sun came out on Sunday in Port-au-Prince. But winds and rain from Hurricane Tomas left their mark on Haiti. Flooding compounded the misery of many living in the relief camps and some roads were damaged by the heavy rains, affecting critical supply routes. But in the week prior to the storm, AmeriCares worked with partners, planning and mobilizing our storm preparations. As the storm approached, our medical aid warehouse was a hub of activity. Aid requests had come in from partners in areas affected by the earthquake and subsequently by the outbreak of cholera. By early Thursday morning, our team had organized shipments. Relief workers from hospitals and clinics from throughout Haiti were converging on the warehouse to pick up our donations of medicines and supplies in advance of the storm. One of the urgent requests for supplies came from Dr. Douze Makenzi at Hospital Toussaint, a small government hospital in the Artibonite region, north of Port-au-Prince. We’ve worked with him since the earthquake and kept his hospital supplied, particularly with the cholera outbreak in the region. Read More »Sarah's Story: Voices from the Field Michelle Jackson 07/07/10 Michelle spent over a month in the Dominican Republic working on AmeriCares Haitian earthquake relief efforts and Dominican medical aid programs. After the 7.0 magnitude earthquake devastated Port-au-Prince on January 12, 2010, thousands of desperate Haitians fled their destroyed homes and crossed into the Dominican Republic, urgently seeking medical aid, shelter and safety. Working during the height of emergency relief efforts in January and February, Michelle met a young earthquake survivor named Sarah who still touches her heart today. Read Sarah's story. Voices from the Field: Dr. Bia in Haiti Dr. Frank Bia. MD 03/16/10 When I arrived at the General Hospital in Port-au-Prince more than a month after the earthquake there were hundreds of people outside waiting in line for medical care in scorching, 90-degree heat. These were not the survivors with broken bones and gaping wounds we had seen on our television screens in the first few weeks after the disaster. Those patients had already come and gone or been admitted to the hospital. The people waiting in line were ordinary Haitians, hoping some of the medical professionals that have come from all over the world to assist the relief efforts would treat their infections, respiratory problems and chronic health conditions - many that have been neglected for far too long. Read more. Read More »Voices from the Field: Elizabeth Furst Frank in Haiti Elizabeth Furst Frank 02/25/10 Elizabeth Furst Frank is Senior Vice President of Global Programs for AmeriCares and oversees our comprehensive Haiti relief efforts. She is working with our emergency response team on the ground, including Medical Director, Dr. Frank Bia, to assess the current health situation and coordinate AmeriCares long-term commitment to help Haiti recover and rebuild its health care system. Here are her reflections from the field. This morning, we visited Petionville Club, driving through the tall stone gates and down a long driveway shaded by old trees. Since the earthquake, the club has become Port au Prince's largest camp for people displaced by the disaster. There are over 80,000 people living on the golf course in the most inhospitable conditions – under a beating sun with little shade and living in small makeshift shelters squeezed against one another along the side of a steep hill. Read More »Carol Reflects on Haiti Carol Shattuck 02/24/10 Carol Shattuck, our Chief of Staff, recounts her experiences from AmeriCares relief efforts in Haiti. Carol brings over 10 years of experience with AmeriCares, including dozens of relief missions. Read her latest report from Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Carol recently left Haiti after spending almost two weeks there. These are her parting reflections... Read More »Getting Medical Aid into Good Hands in Haiti Carol Shattuck 02/18/10 While working on medical aid distribution in Haiti, it was great to meet up with Dr. Robert Bristow, an old friend of AmeriCares. Dr. Bristow has helped with AmeriCares on disaster relief and emergency preparedness since 1994 when he joined us for on an emergency airlift to help Rwandan refugees during the country's horrific civil war. One Month After the Haiti Earthquake, AmeriCares Relief Still Desperately Needed 02/12/10 One month ago, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti taking at least 200,000 lives, injuring 300,000 and leaving over one million men, women and children homeless. Within days of the disaster, AmeriCares delivered an emergency airlift of medical relief to the battered Port-au-Prince airport. With the help of AmeriCares disaster relief experts who were already on the ground, nearly $14 million in lifesaving aid has been delivered to help Haitian earthquake survivors. Help AmeriCares Save Lives » "One month after the earthquake, the health situation remains very severe," reports Brian Hoyer, a member of AmeriCares emergency response team on the ground in Port-au-Prince. "Now we must focus on primary and community health in order to reduce the possibility of disease for all the people left homeless by this disaster." Prior to the disaster Haiti suffered from high rates of infectious and neglected tropical diseases. The earthquake struck Haiti's most populated area causing a breakdown in sanitation, clean water, housing and medical services. Many hospitals and health clinics were damaged or destroyed – leaving doctors and nurses without the tools and supplies they needed to care for throngs of injured survivors. AmeriCares relief workers initially reported dire medical conditions like scenes from the U.S. Civil War – tents filled with people in agony, amputations performed with carpentry saws, broken bones set by hand and alcohol used as a disinfectant. Read More »A Generation of Amputees Bret McEvoy 02/04/10 This morning I boarded the UN Humanitarian flight transporting passengers from Port-au-Prince to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. As I looked down on the tragedy that has befallen this remarkable country, I found myself reflecting on a comment made by a pediatrician at Hopital Saint Francois de Sales, a recipient of AmeriCares' medical support. He lamented, "Haiti will now have a generation of amputees, both physical and emotional." His harrowing words really paint a picture of the challenges ahead. Read More »When a relief worker becomes sick Bret McEvoy 02/01/10 I've spent the past 48 hours in bed, lying in my own sweat, vomit and intestinal distress. It's been uncomfortable and debilitating, but never hopeless. Hopelessness comes when there's no available solution, but luckily, I have the means to treat my condition. I have a hotel room to retreat to for some semblance of quiet and privacy. I have access to our medical director back home, who can advise me on the most appropriate course of action. And most importantly, we brought oral rehydration solutions to help replace lost fluids and electrolytes, and antibiotics to combat what is most likely a bacterial infection. Read More »Two Weeks After Haiti Earthquake Bret McEvoy 01/27/10 It's now been two weeks since the earthquake devastated Haiti. And on day 13 of my stay, I've begun to notice a developing routine. We open up the warehouse in the morning and receive medical representatives eager to replenish their dwindling or non-existent stock, as the demands for their services have increased exponentially in the wake of this disaster. We then make deliveries to some of those unable to reach our warehouse, perform assessments of potential recipients and effected areas, and follow up on our donations by visiting clinics and medical teams benefiting from our needed medicines and supplies. Read More »Medical Relief Reaches Haitian Hospitals Carol Shattuck 01/24/10 Brian and I visited the Centre Hospitalier du Sacre-Coeur Saturday. The hospital is one of the many places in Haiti where AmeriCares medical aid is being used to help injured earthquake survivors. Mary Therese Bellefleur was one of the many patients we met. A young woman, she lay on a stretcher with her concerned husband by her side. Mary Therese arrived at the hospital the day before, ten days after the earthquake. She was in her home when the earthquake struck; the entire house came crashing down on her. Read More » Nayola Saint-Paul is an earthquake survivor... Carol Shattuck 01/23/10 Nayola Saint-Paul is an earthquake survivor. I met her as she was about to get ready for surgery at Canape-Vert Hospital in Port-au-Prince. Doctors said things like “cerebral contusion” and “laceration”, but all I could see was a beautiful young girl, disoriented and weary, who suffered from serious injuries to her head. Read More » Imagine having an amputation with no anesthesia Bret McEvoy 01/23/10 Imagine having an amputation with no anesthesia, or a lingering and spreading infection with no antibiotics, or a child in need of an injection with only a large gauge needle meant for an adult. Without access to medicines and supplies, this is the reality in post-earthquake Haiti. Read More » The Haitian people are a beautiful people. And they need our help. Bret McEvoy 01/22/10I keep reading reports about problems in Port au Prince. Some of my colleagues and acquaintances have encountered precarious situations, but it hasn’t been my experience in recent days. Granted, our team tries to refrain from traveling at night, and we have local staff helping us to avoid certain pre-earthquake trouble spots. But that all being said, I have found nothing but warmth, hospitality and gratefulness in the Haitian people I have met and befriended. Even despite the horror and tragedy of last week’s earthquake, I still catch friendly smiles and receive a gentle touch. Read More » Today is my Fifth Full Day in Haiti Carol Shattuck 01/22/10 Today is my fifth full day in Haiti. Each day seems like at least a week long as we start early and finish late at night. We continue to have aftershocks, including this morning. Everyone is very on edge about the aftershocks. People who were here for the initial quake are particularly traumatized, as you can imagine. Read More » Extensive Medical Needs on the Ground Brian Hoyer 01/21/10Yesterday we traveled about 15 miles from Port-au-Prince to the town of Leogane where I’d estimate 80-90% of the buildings were destroyed. As we drove to the clinic, we picked up the sickest patients along the way. When our crew of aid workers, volunteers and patients arrived, we found it was a few tarps stretch between buildings of a quake-damaged nursing school. Read More » As the ground shook beneath me... Carol Shattuck 01/20/10 As the ground shook beneath me at 6:00 am this morning, I awoke in a panic. Quickly surveying the situation, I soon learned my team was all accounted for and no one was harmed. Thankfully, there also were no major damage reports from the rest of the affected area. I’m wearing many hats in Haiti. From formal meetings with the Haitian Minister of Health, to visiting injured patients in the hospitals and clinics where AmeriCares is delivering aid, my days are fast-paced and full. Read More » Today began with a shot of adrenaline... Brian Hoyer 01/20/10Today began with a shot of adrenaline – a 6.1 magnitude aftershock rocked Port-au-Prince at 6 A.M. and abruptly woke the team from sleep. Even in the early morning hours, the air outside was already heavy and streets buzzed with activity throughout the ravaged city. The team immediately began mapping out the day - dividing responsibilities, duties, and goals. Organization and clarity are the keys to getting tasks accomplished amid the chaos that has overtaken the city. Read More » My heart began pounding... Carol Shattuck 01/18/10 My heart began pounding with anticipation once I learned I was headed to Haiti to help with AmeriCares relief efforts. This Sunday morning there would be no leisurely cup of coffee, no chat with my husband over the crossword. This Sunday was all about getting on an emergency airlift to Port-Au-Prince, Haiti to help earthquake survivors. Preparation was essential. As the clock ticked down to departure, we made sure we had what we needed to get by without access to food or shelter once we arrived in Haiti. Like a surreal camping trip, we packed tents, food, water, flashlights and other critical supplies. Read More »
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