Today, Direct Relief has dispatched three shipments valued at more than $1.1 million total (wholesale) to support our partners’ care for people injured in the Haiti earthquake.
St. Damien Hospital in Port-au-Prince is treating a huge numbers of people injured in the quake. Direct Relief has sent St. Damien a consignment of medical material aid valued at almost $969,000 (wholesale), containing needed medicines, supplies, and equipment.
On the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, St. Damien sustained minimal structural damage, and is just southeast of the airport. “We are managing the countless people with severe and serious wounds coming to our hospital,” said Robin Schwartz, assistant director of the hospital. “We are doing our best for them, under trees and in the parking lot with diminishing supplies. We work through the night and beyond.” The 120-bed pediatric hospital has an emergency room, a surgical ward, a pharmacy, radiology services, and a warehouse on its campus. St. Damien was able to use its 2009 Hurricane Preparedness Module (emergency medical material) for its earthquake response.
Hôpital Albert Schweitzer (HAS), a 130-bed surgical hospital in Deschapelles, reports that it has been receiving a stream of patients from Port-au-Prince. HAS offers specialty surgeries including orthopedics, outpatient services, pre-natal care, and more. It is receiving more than $167,000 (wholesale) of medical material aid to support its care for people injured in the earthquake.
Yayasan Bumi Sehat (YBS), a longtime Direct Relief partner based in Indonesia, is sending a team of midwives to Haiti to operate a temporary clinic outside Port-au-Prince. YBS has extensive experience in midwifery, obstetrics/gynecology, primary care, and emergency response medicine from its work following the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. YBS anticipates seeing 100 patients a day and is planning to staff its clinic for two months. Direct Relief’s consignment, containing basic medical supplies and materials valued at nearly $1,200 (wholesale), will travel with the YBS team to Haiti.
