Guest Post: Day 4 in Haiti

As Dr. Royer is in Haiti with the CHRISTUS team, updates on the team’s work there will be posted by the CHRISTUS Communications team in Dallas.

There was another tremor at 1 a.m. It was mild, but did frighten several of the staff members. It was still very hot today, but luckily there has been no rain at the Miami hospital, so they have not had flooding like many other camps have. They feel like they’re acclimating to the heat now.

On this, their 4th day in Haiti, Dr. Royer said he felt that their organization skills are paying off. The CHRISTUS team is working in and/or leading many departments/areas in the hospital, and they have seen great payoffs for their hard work. Yesterday was their busiest day yet. The night was very long, and didn’t end till 4 a.m.

Trauma seems to be picking up, and they saw 2 patients with major injuries from car accidents overnight. They expect this will continue, as people are staying in tents close to major roadways.

The staff is managing babies well in the pediatric area, and Dr. Royer wanted everyone to know that the CHRISTUS team is being innovative in Haiti as well—they used the heating apparatus from an MRE (pictured at left) to warm water in order to keep baby warm who was born premature.

They discovered 5 orphans living at the airport (where the hospital is located), ages 4 ½ to 10. The oldest is taking care of the rest of them. Our team asked the social worker on staff at the hospital to visit with/help them.

Our staff is also looking in to the possibility of transferring patients from the hospital in Haiti to CHRISTUS facilities in the U.S., as they feel this will provide the best continuity of care. This requires cooperation from many different areas, though, and the CHRISTUS team is committed to abiding by all rules and regulations. As we listened to a physician describe one of his patients and his efforts to secure the best care possible for her, it was clear that he didn’t see her as just another set of injuries, but a person with a future and hopes and fears.

The team is working hard and doing the best with what they have, even though the conditions are much different in Haiti than what they are used to. One of the nurses described how they clean their instruments: “First, they are soaked in a bleach and water solution for 5 minutes, then scrubbed in another pan. Then they are put to soak in basins in Vodka. The instruments remain in the Vodka basins. There are no pans or autoclaves. You take the cover towel off, get the instruments you want and recover the Vodka basin.”

The team reports that they are in high spirits, and continue to provide the best care they can.