Published by: Maya Linson on 1/13/2011 10:10:40 AM
Amid all of the news about the devastation that remains in Haiti one year later, I came across this incredible story from one of our member hospitals – LSU in New Orleans, La.
NBC "Dateline" actually featured Mitch Handrich, RN, a MICU staff nurse at the Interim LSU Public Hospital, as part of a volunteer medical group that parachuted and hiked to two remote mountainous villages in Haiti - Medor and Zoranger.
Handrich was part of a team that included three doctors, three registered nurses, three nurse practitioners, an ophthalmologist, a dentist and a veterinarian for villagers' animals – all organized by the American nonprofit Remote Area Medical.
The team tackled three main tasks: build a dirt/grass airstrip that could be used to provide air ambulance service to the community, conduct a 3 day clinic providing needed medical care to people in the area, and repair the road going into Medor allowing vehicles to travel all the way into the village. While they were unable to finish the last task because they didnt have enough manpower, you can see in the video footage from NBC that they indeed made a difference for the people of Medor.
Medor has a population of about 40,000 people. The only access to the village is via walking or on the back of a donkey unless it is during the dry season when sometimes a 4-wheel drive vehicle can make the route.
According to Handrich: “We had eight people skydive into Medor the 1st day and then on the 2nd day we had the rest of our team, including the rest of the medical people who came in via truck as far as they could make it and then they had to walk the last 6 hours. We used donkeys and porters to carry the equipment.
"We had heard that the community had been struck with Cholera and so we took with us lots of IV fluids and re-hydration salts as well as antibiotics. When we arrived we found that they had less patients with Cholera than what we expected. The patients we saw had lots of skin infections, respiratory infections and GI problems but on the whole they were pretty healthy people.
"Our clinic was only to be held for 3 days, however, on the 4th day there were at least 400 people waiting to be seen. Many of them walked 5 hours in order to be seen by one of our doctors. Most of the medical team had been scheduled to leave on that day but due to the political riots going on in Port Au Prince they were unable to leave. We decided to open the clinic for a 4th day to see as many people as possible. The following day the majority of the medical team left via helicopter.
“Because we were able to hire 60 local Haitians to help us construct the airstrip, we accomplished our goal. We were able to complete a 1,300 foot airstrip by the time we left. The only thing we were disappointed about was that we weren’t able to see a plane land on the airstrip before we left. A plane from Knoxville was hoping to use the runway but mechanical problems, as well as not yet having permission from the government, made this impossible. The airstrip is ready for use.”
Check out the slideshow below to see a photo of the completed airstrip that will be used for an air-ambulance service that will be provided free of charge via RAM.
According to an LSU release, the medical team and Handrich, who had travelled to Haiti last year after the earthquake hit, also held educational sessions with the locals and taught them about Cholera, how to treat their water and how to use the re-hydration salts in case this became necessary.
The video below may be considered graphic, but it is intensely moving and shows the great need that still exists. About four minutes in is the story of a 19 year old boy whose hand had been badly burnt and injured during the earthquake. Handrich explains, “This patient had received care immediately after the earthquake but his mother had run out of money and he had to stop going to receive treatment. It was badly infected when he first came to us. We had him return every day while we were there to clean the wound, change the dressing and try to teach him some physical therapy to restore movement and function in his hand. He had a 2 hour walk every day to get to us, but he came.”
The devastation has been long-lasting, but stories like reinforce just how important safety net hospitals are not only to the US healthcare system, but also for our neighbors in need.
Click "Playlist" to see other clips from "Rescue in the Mountains"