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Current Team Field Reports 
Sunday, February 28 Summary Report, Team 3 (Ekip John Brown): [Editor's note: Internet access is currently sparse in Haiti, so this may be the last report for several days, or Team 3 may transition directly to a long-term project scheduled to begin operations in two weeks. This report was sent directly from Pauly in Haiti for editing and posting.] Near Port-au-Prince, Haiti Sunday, February 28, 2010, 1:43 PM HT At this moment I am working with some orphanages located about 30-45 minutes outside of Port-Au-Prince. There are around 160 children total. I have been working to get basic and urgent medical attention to these children which has turned out to be a difficult task. There are a lot of politics in play, mostly with the larger hospitals in the region. But on occasion I find a medical staff that is willing to take my patients, even though they are not in emergency status. The majority of my patients are either in urgent care or in clinical status. UTI and kidney infections are increasing daily due to dehydration and an unsanitary environment. I myself am not a doctor. I can only treat wounds and minimal infections with the supplies and education I have. So far I have successfully treated a few cases of UTI and a few cases of dysentery. I am currently treating a sever tibia fracture and a patient that is borderline septic with a poorly treated wound on her shin. I currently have about a month's supply of Cipro, which is a little harsh for basic UTI but that is all I have. I have handed out at least 5 pounds of Tylenol to treat swelling and fever. All in all, it is a little crazy down here. I am also working with a citizen journalist, Tyler Westbrook who is documenting as much as he can (he works with an Internet news group called http://www.whynotnews.org/ .) He has been a bit of support and has made effort to bring other support in from larger NGOs, and we have made a few promising connections with NGOs like UNICEF and the World Food Program. We do have some allies in the states that are working on bring support from all sides of the spectrum, including Sean Penn. In addition, I have been able to find support from random people here and there including a donation of US$1000 from a lady who is part of a traveling clinic passing through. The children at the orphanage sang to the lady and she did what anyone with a kind heart would do. The clinic also gave me some medical supplies such as childrens' Tylenol and anti-scabies cream. I have yet to see a case of scabies, but expect it in the near future. I have made multiple visits to the UN complex and was able to get a weeks supply of pure water, courtesy of the Argentinian military. We registered with UNICEF and WFP to hopefully get some food and water to this region. UNICEF says that they can get us a mass water filtration system, but they have not yet sent an assessment team to the orphanage. I know it was a little difficult in the beginning but I'm here now and we have the opportunity to continue making some positive change here. Webmaster Note Regarding Team 3 (Ekip John Brown) Friday, February 26 , 10 AM: One member of Ekip John Brown is still in Haiti. Unfortunately, we have very limited communication with him which is why there have been no reports for several days. Friday, February 12 Daily Summary Report, Team 3 (Ekip John Brown): Sophie has encountered what sounds to her like Haitians talking about a large amount of local graft, especially by those people and local institutions favored with resources by the Haitian government health ministry and the World Health Organization. She tries to avoid the larger, favored groups except when she has to deal with them. She is now working primarily with a tent city called "Guatemala". She assisted today in two major surgeries, and there is a major need for medical supplies including injectable diclofenac, injectable lidocaine, hydrogen peroxide, betadine, antibiotic ointments, diazepam, alprazolam, non-stick dressings, gauze, tape, bandages, and gloves. Due to the shortage of anesthetics and pain relievers, she spends half her time in surgery just holding the patient's head to her chest and breathing with them to get them to focus on something other than the pain of surgery; in Haiti, people are expected to suffer through, and tolerate these type of experiences. She also assists with pediatrics at a hospital near where he's currently living with the Hasbourne family. She and the family obtain food from the Colombian Red Cross, which set up operations in her previous residence. She is considering relocating to a large, unnamed tent city with 6,000 people in it. That tent city has an even poorer amount of aid compared to other cities, and looks to be a major disaster once it starts to rain. She is also trying to make as many connections as possible with local medical personnel. Paul K. and Paul O. are wheels-up heading for the Dominican Republic, and hope to get to Haiti sometime tomorrow. Monday, February 8 Daily Summary Report, Team 3 (Ekip John Brown): Sophie reported in that if people need to ask her about something, that they be short questions because of the vast amount of work that she has already committed to. Sunday, February 7 Daily Summary Report, Team 3 (Ekip John Brown): Team 3 began with one member, Sophie, traveling into the country on January 31 with a Baptist missionary group, CDR. She traveled to Cap-Hatien with them, where they were already set up with a well-supplied and staffed clinic. As a result, she decided to look for places with more needs than the CDR location. She made friends with a group of Turkish filmmakers and a pediatric doctor, and traveled to Port-au-Prince with them. Before Team 2 (Ekip Bon Fwa) left, she met with Grace for an hour and Grace explained things, introduced her to key people at BIC, and walked around Pétionville with her. Sophie has been staying with different friends in the area, helping to set up a clinic, and has been generally working in tent cities assisting teams of Haitian doctors and nurses. Her plan for the 8th is to visit WHO headquarters to investigate setting up a supply line for the clinics in the tent cities. There is no supply line set up by the UN to the indigenous medical personnel in the tent cities she visited. She is traveling either by bus, or else with friends and paying for gas: bus to Jacmel $3, gas to downtown $7, bus fron Cap-Hatien $20. She also plans to meet with Team 4. Hospitals that are still standing in the area are well stocked and staffed at this time; however, field clinics and tent cities are in urgent need of staff and supplies. Many buildings have been triaged for demolition. Page last updated: Sunday, February 28, 2010, 7:45 PM HT |