by Melissa Jeltsen on May 11, 2010
Maggie Pierre, RN, Organ Transplant, Unit 10S
Maggie Pierre, RN, Organ Transplant, Unit 10S
Stepping on the grounds of my birthplace after 23 years was a shocking experience. The images of poverty, destruction and desperation around me was quite different from the images of my childhood memories. Immediately, I begin to have mixed feelings of guilt for being more fortunate than others in this country as a child, at the same time blessed for the opportunities I have as a United States citizen. Within hours of arrival at the tent hospital, we had two emergent cesarean cases rushed though the operating room doors. Full story »
by Melissa Jeltsen on May 6, 2010
From April 10 to 18, Children’s Hospital Boston sent its largest group so far to Haiti for relief efforts. A 26-member multidisciplinary team traveled to a field hospital on the Port-au-Prince airport tarmac, staffed by Project Medishare/University of Miami Hospital.
Over the next week, Thrive will feature writings and photos from many of the team members as they reflect on the struggles to provide care with limited resources. This first post is written by Sarita Chung, MD, Division of Emergency Medicine. Full story »
by Melissa Jeltsen on January 28, 2010
After returning from Haiti, Children’s Pediatrician-in-Chief, Gary Fleisher, trauma surgeon David Mooney and pharmacist Shannon Manzi are interviewed by WBZTV about the human suffering they witnessed during their medical mission.
Nelson Aquino, a nurse anesthetist from Children’s, is still in Haiti with a group of Children’s clinicians. He’s been sending us updates and photos almost daily. Here’s his most recent email:
A week later, many volunteers are starting to go home. I wonder who will come to replace them. Will it be surgeons, doctors, or nurses or all who will roll up there sleeves to take care of the sick. We need many people to rehab the amputees, people to remove hardware, people to provide nursing care and antibiotics, and people to provide long term needs. It will take a long time for this country to be back to where it was prior to the earthquake. But it must be better than that, we must provide homes, a clean water supply and some revenue for this country.
What concerns me is that people may forget the devastation this country has experienced and yet I know I will never forget the images burned in my memory. There are no words to describe the devastation here from people who are sleeping in the rubble of their homes to protect their property and bury their dead.
The infrastructure of the country has almost been annihilated. I am unsure how the hospital will function after other groups start to return home. The ultimate goal is get the Haitian people to function independently with a higher standard of care. This end will require an unconditional commitment from the international community. Full story »
by Matt Cyr on January 27, 2010
Children's trauma surgeon David Mooney, MD, is featured in today's Boston Globe article on infections in Haiti. Photo courtesy Boston Globe.
Editor’s note: All three members of the other Children’s team on the ground in Haiti, Pediatrician-in-Chief, Gary Fleisher, trauma surgeon David Mooney (left) and pharmacist Shannon Manzi, are featured in a Boston Globe article today about how infections are becoming the big problem for the people of Haiti.
Nelson Aquino, a nurse anesthetist from Children’s, is in Haiti with a group of Children’s clinicians. He’s been sending us updates and photos almost daily. Here’s his most recent email:
Today was another hectic day in our makeshift OR. And to make it worse, we did not have any electricity the entire morning. But we continued on safely using our portable monitors, homemade suction and no bovies. You would be amazed how much work we got done without light or electricity. Things are starting to get better each day. As old teams leave and new ones arrive, we continue to get our work done. We all feel like we hit the wall today. The fatigue is starting to get to us even though we are hydrating and trying to eat as much as we can. Full story »
by Melissa Jeltsen on January 26, 2010
Nelson Aquino, a nurse anesthetist from Children’s, is in Haiti with a group of Children’s clinicians. He’s been sending us updates and photos almost daily. Here’s his most recent email:
As we almost reach our first week here in Haiti, I wanted to share that Port au Prince is slowly making some improvement. Each day seems like the people here are trying their best to move on and go on with living. Despite the devastation and tragedy, we have seen the Haitian people looking for work, selling food on the street, cleaning what’s left of their homes, dressing up for Sunday’s best, attending services and children smiling and playing.
This patient was so thankful her legs were not amputated that she prayed for Nelson Aquino.
The city is full of dust, has poor air quality, remains in shambles and is piled with trash. The people are eating, sleeping and living in these conditions. Crowds gather daily to look for work, see the envoy of volunteers and fill roads with traffic. It amazes me that it took a major disaster for us to finally get over here and help this very poor country. I hope we continue to realize that we need to support Haiti and countries like Haiti. I am amazed how the less fortunate are so happy despite having nothing.
One of the patients I anesthetized today woke up screaming in joy that we did not amputate her legs. She proceeded to place her hand on my head and said a prayer for me. The interpreter said it was some really heavy stuff she was saying. For me, I feel so blessed to be able give all I can as RN, CRNA and human being. Full story »
by Matt Cyr on January 24, 2010
Today we all made huge progress with our new OR. Our Children’s team
One of the operating rooms the Children's team is using
now has teamed up with the Brigham and Women’s and NYU teams to do surgery. Early this morning, our first group headed out to set up the OR and seek out our potential patients.
At the general hospital, we opened a preop area, 4 OR tables and a PACU. Our team leaders worked hard today with the IMC (International Medical Corporation) to make this happen.
While searching for extra beds, and the right Red Cross tent, Jay Hartford, a 7 South nurse, and I stumbled upon some chaos. A 2 day old baby had been seizing on and off since birth. A team of paramedics were screaming for intubation, but only had large endotrachial tubes (ETT). So being a pediatric CRNA, I naturally swarmed over and told the team that. Immediately they moved everyone aside and said, “Let him intubate.” As the paramedic removed the ambu bag off the neonate, I used a large blade and intubated this 3 kg baby. As they listened for breath sounds and confirmed placement, everyone was clapping. The U.S. military arrived and helped us transport this neonate in a hummer. With no monitors, no meds and an unstable IV, the military guys shut the doors and it was pitch black and 100 degrees. Full story »
by Matt Cyr on January 19, 2010
James Sheard (left) a firefighter-paramedic from Hingham, and Shannon Manzi, an ER pharmacist at Children's Hospital Boston exchange glances upon arrival at the already-occupied mission location late night, Jan 17. The DMAT 1 team at long last secured secure transit to their mission location to set up a field hospital, but the journey took more than five hours and included hour after hour of delay while the teams stood packed tightly together in idling dump trucks. Credit: Dina Rudick/Globe Staff
After several days of trying to make their way to the site of the devastation in Haiti and get their field hospital set up, the Children’s team is working hard in Port-au-Prince to care for the earthquake victims.
As detailed in this Boston.com article, Children’s Pediatrician-in-Chief, Gary Fleisher, MD, even helped bring some light into a very dark situation when he delivered a healthy baby boy yesterday.
We’ll have more updates on the work of the Children’s team as soon as we have them.
by Matt Cyr on January 16, 2010
Lester Hartman, MD, is a Children’s-affiliated pediatrician who works at Westwood-Mansfield Pediatric Associates. For several years he has run a clinic in the mountains of Haiti through a program called the Haitian Organization Program For Education And Health. Hartman made his way to the region within days of this week’s earthquake. Below are three updates from Hartman as he has tries to make his way to the clinic and begins to grasp the level of devastation caused by the earthquake.
Friday, January 15, 5:53 pm – We are heading to the DR [Dominican Republic] Haiti border in a little bit and drive thru the night as is 6 hrs and then we will cross in am in a faltbed truck with $8000 US meds plus PLUMPY NUT- hi calorie peanut butter paste for malnourished kids. This may be my last contact until crossing the border back. Lots of Haitians trying to cross the border.
Friday, January 15, 2010 6:01 pm – We are in the mountains our clinic is intact. We will arrive at the clinic tomorrow with additional meds to help with the evacuees coming up the mountain. We are 5 miles west of Lascohabos in the Central Plateau region. This is Katrina X100. We expect to see more malnutrition.
Saturday, January 16 9:34 am – Got stuck in DR but found generous pharmacist who is getting us meds/ we got $6000 US food [and] about $6000 meds. It’s a drop in the bucket but at least it is a drop. This is going to be Katrina x 1000 and my childhood home was flooded in Katrina. Our director is planning to bring victims up from PAP [Port au Prince]. Who knows, we might have a tent city. Heading out to Haiti in about 1-2 hrs. Not sure what our access will be.
We’ll update you on Hartman’s progress and that of the Children’s team that has been trying to get to Haiti since earlier this week as soon as we have more information.
