Help Haiti
On January 12, 2010, a massive earthquake struck the nation of Haiti, causing catastrophic damage inside and around the capital city of Port-au-Prince.
The American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM) has heard from various members/colleagues about their efforts to assist. Below is a collection of resources to find out what you can do as a fellow medical professional.
Donate & Volunteer
- The AMA/NDLS™ Disaster Volunteer Physician Registry
- American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
- American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons
- American Academy of Pediatrics
- American Physical Therapy Association
- Healing Hands for Haiti
- Cure International
- Center for International Research
- Project HOPE
AACPDM Members Report from Haiti
2/23/2010: Hank Chambers, MD
This video shows images from the first week of February 2010, at CRUDEM's Hopital Sacre Coeur in Milot in northern Haiti.
2/16/2010: Hank Chambers, MD
Returned from a week in Haiti caring for the children and adults. Located in the only fully functional hospital in Haiti...Hopital Sacre Coeur in Milot about 12 miles south of Cap Haitien 100 miles north of Port-au-Prince. Originally a 74 bed hospital, but the end of my time there, there were over 400 patients with open fractures, crush injuries, amputations, paraplegia and quadriplegia. The US Navy flew in over 125 patients that week, all with orthopedic problems. My team performed over 220 operations most of which entailed revision amputations, debridements and skin grafting. The most significant event of that week was the arrival of five PT’s and OT’s who immediately mobilized the patients. There were 3 deaths from pulmonary emboli in the previous few weeks and none after the therapists arrived. On top of that, patients who were listless and shell shocked have begun to smile and give the doctors a hard time when rounds took too long for them to be able to walk around the compound. As the patients of Haiti move to the next stage of rehabilitation, there will be a greater need for physiatrists and therapists. The equipment is getting there, but there is no expertise in the country righ now. Prosthetists will be in great demand as well.
I'm in Haiti right now working with the CRUDEM Foundation in the north of the country. It's the largest most complete hospital in Haiti. We are getting 30 to 50 air evacs from the US Navy every day. We now have over 350 patients and their families in a hospital built for 50. Our current and long term needs are going to be physiatrists and therapists. We had five therapists arrive on January 31, and they are key to getting people up off of their straw mats. I would say that we have over 200 amputees in our hospital right now. I just got out of the OR doing a below-knee amputation in an 8 year old. We are also the only hospital in Haiti accepting para and quadriplegics. The Navy ships are even sending them to us, and we have 12 right now.