Pics from Haiti volunteer trip

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97tbird

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Fayetteville, NC
our crew on the way @ Miami Intl airport...wifey and me in middle - other 2 are students from my class...(wifey was already a pharmacist, the rest graduated yesterday...)
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on the bus from airport to the field hospital:
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field hospital tents
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Our sleeping quarters/tent - with mosquito nets:
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volunteers having a chat/meal/drink...
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me enjoying the only time I was online (for 10 min) that's all that was allowed..
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our pharmacy crew after a few days:
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Happy to have some MREs:
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Port au Prince:
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our vehicle for the short and only tour:
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my only entertainment to get away from 120F days, trying to catch sleep after working 12 hr night shifts...I got a 8GB micro SDHC card and loaded it up with music, and used it with my BB - it was so useful..
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Patients were right in front of pharmacy...after 2 fires broke out while we were on night shift, all patients were evacuated, and pediatrics and adults were here since then:
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Me making IVs in the "IV hood": (we had no gloves/masks, etc)
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These kids hung around the camp the whole day:
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Ready for the journey back home on last day...
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97tbird: Great Pictures!! you've got a good heart for volunteering like that. I bet you had one heck of a time over there.
 
So interesting. Truly an inside view. You are a very good person.

Can you give a little mini synopsis of your duties? Just curious how you helped, in what manner, so to speak.

Thanks!
 
I think the following responses that my wife typed in response to a questionnaire/interview from our school will help answer most questions you guys asked; it not please post your specific questions here.
Thanks a lot for comments - we hope we made a difference.
----------------------------------------------
What date was the trip? May 1-8

· Who went with you? Megan Lockamy (PharmD '10), Roger Reeder (PharmD '10), Nishan Gunawardena (PharmD '10), and Gail Warner (PharmD '08)

· Did you work with a specific organization while you were in Haiti? It was a collaboration between the University of Miami Global Institute, Project Medishare, and The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

· What did you do while in Haiti?

We worked as pharmacists in the UM/Project Medishare field hospital located on the Port au Prince airport grounds. The hospital was housed in four large tents and many smaller tents. We provided oral, IV, and topical medications to patients in all departments of the hospital including adult and pediatric general medical/surgery, ICU, NICU/PICU, OR, and ER. Since all the medications were donations, we would not always have what the doctor requested, therefore a lot of time was spent either searching through the donations or helping the doctors decide what would be the best alternative based on what we had in stock. Sometimes we had medication donations from other countries, so we would have to figure out how to dose medications not available in the U.S., such as IV Augmentin and IV quinine. And all of this was done without computers or internet!

On our second night in Haiti, a small electrical fire broke out first in the pediatric/ICU tent, then in the adult med/surg tent. On that night, we helped evacuate patients along with their cots, IV poles, etc. Once all the patients were safely outside, we set up a small "mobile pharmacy" to provide essential meds until we could move back into the hospital.

We also had the opportunity to help develop a formulary for the hospital. As donations are starting to dry up, the hospital anticipates that it will have to start purchasing medications, so it will need the most cost-effective medication supply.

· How did the group find out about the trip? Shortly after the earthquake in January, the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) sent out an email to members saying that pharmacists were needed in the relief effort. I (Gail) knew immediately that I wanted to go help out and Nishan (my husband) agreed to go with me, so we sent our volunteer information to APhA and waited for more information. Eventually our information was transferred to the UM Global Institute. About mid-April, we found out that we would be able to go on the May 1-8 trip. Nishan mentioned the trip to his friend and classmate, Megan, and she decided instantly that she wanted to go, too. Our neighbor and another of Nishan's classmates, Brittanie Hatch (PharmD '10) was going to go with us, but could not at the last minute. But it was through Brittanie that their classmate, Roger, found out about the trip and decided to go only about a week before we departed.

· Why was the group interested in going on the trip? I (Gail) have a strong desire to help those who need it most, both in the US and abroad. I had been wanting to get involved with international medical trips for some time, but had not been able to do so until now.

· What did your group take away from the trip? I (Gail) learned that anyone can make a difference, all you need is the willingness to do so. None of us had ever done anything like this and we did not feel very prepared prior to the trip. But we all shared a desire to help in whatever way we could, so we did our best and we figured it out as we went.
 
Did you get the feeling that your efforts were appreciated?
I ask because I met a Dr. who went to NO after Katrina with 'Drs. w/o Borders'. He stated that many people (victims) there had a bad attitude.
 
pbm:
We didn't have a lot of direct contact with patients; nurses and doctors would be better judges, BUT: the few patients and their families that we got to see and talk to a bit seemed VERY appreciative of our efforts, and the ones who could speak English a bit often said "god bless you guys" and it felt like they did mean it.
 
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