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Wanted: Surgeons, nurses, and other medical personnel to help in Haiti

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Picture 22By Partners in Health

We are deeply grateful for the multitude of people who have contacted us wanting to provide medical  assistance. As patients flood to our sites from Port-au-Prince, we’re finding ourselves in need of both medical personnel and supplies. In particular, we need surgeons (especially
trauma/orthopedic surgeons), ER doctors and nurses, and full surgical teams (including anesthesiologists, scrub and post-op nurses, and nurse anesthetists).

If you are a health professional interested in volunteering, please send an email to volunteer@pih.org with information on your credentials, language capabilities (Haitian Creole or French desired), availability, and contact information.

As phone lines in Haiti remain down and transportation and communication are difficult, PIH is still in the process of determining where we can set up operations in Port-au-Prince, and how we can transport patients and volunteers to our sites. We will be able to offer more concrete information after these logistical matters are resolved.

Once again – thank you for your support.  Kenbe fèm.

Related :

Become a Fan of Medicins Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders). Here …

Visit the Haitian Earthquake Relief Facebook page. Here.

Reports of Disinformation spreading:

The report circulating on Twitter and Facebook claiming that American Airlines is flying medical teams to Haiti for free is a fabrication. The story seemed a little too good to be true to us, so we called American Airlines corporate headquarters in Dallas to look into it. The Airline says it is contributing to the relief effort through the American Red Cross, but says it is not flying doctors and nurses to Haiti.

The company sent us the following official statement:

“Our humanitarian flights out of San Juan to PAP continue again today. We’ve incentivized our 62 million AAdvantage members to give cash to Red Cross and receive bonus miles from us.

Last night’s hoax on Twitter about American and Jet Blue flying doctors and nurses to Haiti for free was just that — a hoax. We do not know who is responsible.  We cannot fly any passenger flights to Haiti at this time (U.S. Military in control of airport) and our efforts on the humanitarian front are as described above. We do not yet know when we will be allowed to resume passenger flights.”

A similar story suggesting that the United Parcel Service is shipping packages under 50 pounds to Haiti for free is also fabricated. The company tells the Miami Tribune that is donating $1 million to the relief effort instead.

The moral for bloggers and other citizen journalists? Your seemingly harmless Tweet or Facebook posting is potentially a powerful weapon of mass disinformation. So stop and think for a second before you pull the trigger. Take a moment to consider the report you’re reposting before you pass it on. Does the story make sense? Is it logical? Or does it – well – sound just a little too good to be true?  If the source provides contact information, do what a good reporter would do and call to check.  (As it turns out, the number provided for American Airlines is actually for the Honduran Consulate in New York. American Airlines is based in Dallas.) Don’t simply assume that a story checks out because somebody you know said so.

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23 replies »

  1. I am a X-Ray Taechnician and Medical Assistant who would very much like to help if needed.. Is there any need for such in Haiti? Please email me and let me know what I can do!

  2. I’ve worked as a Surgical Tech. in Seattle, Wa at the trauma hospital Harborview, both in the E.R and the O.R., also I worked in surgery at Children’s Hospital in Seattle.
    I would love to go to Haiti to help out in any way possible.
    Please let me know

  3. I am an ER nurse with 1 1/2 years of experience. Would love to help any way I can-whether it be in direct patient care or helping collect supplies/money. Please le tme know.

  4. I am a respitory therepist in oklahoma and i would like to help as much as I can to the releif efforts just let me know what to do

  5. Hi,
    I am an RN with 10 yrs OR exp, asst charge nurse of Ortho and then charge nurse Med/Surg 10 yrs. I am thinking about the aftermath. With all the crush injuries and amputaions, there will be a great need for crutches. Should we consider starting a campaign to collect crutches and other mobility aids. I’m sure people have such things in basements and attics.
    I would consider going to Haiti and helping with the intense followup care to follow, perhaps in May if needed.

  6. If someone could get this idea out….with all the help of the “medical care” ie doctors/nurses surgical teams around the country going to Haiti, there r already “teams” in play at fixed and mobile facilities…just allow the teams to continue to “rotate” their teams out to cover the needed medical/surgical care….then put one group/service in charge of monitoring/coordinating the system…..people r rising to the challenge don’t throw a monkey wrench into it….just let people do what they do best and use the internet to coordinate

  7. I will be graduating in May as a Clinical Medical Assistant and want ot help. I understand that my credentials will not help immediately, but Haiti will need help for months and years to come.
    Please let me know if down the road my assistance can be of any help.
    My thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Haiti

  9. I am a Surgical tech in south florida and I would like to help people in Haiti. I can try to make arragements to go and help. If there is anything I can do to help contact me

  10. update from partners in health
    We are deeply grateful for the multitude of people who have contacted us wanting to provide medical assistance. At this time, while we wish we could use all of the support so generously offered, we are unable to accommodate any volunteers without significant surgical or trauma training and experience.
    We are in need of: orthopedic surgeons, trauma surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, OR nurses, post-op nurses, and surgical technicians. If your qualifications match this need, please fill out the form below:
    http://standwithhaiti.org/haiti/news-entry/update-on-volunteer-request/

  12. I am a medical social worker familiar w/ TBI injuries, APS concerns,Families & Childrens Services, and I will lose my home if I am unable to secure another source of employment soon. I have pets that need tending to, but w/the added earthquake in VS, thought perhaps, since I was also a VISTA VOLUNTEER, perhaps someone could provide some assistance to someone who possesses the skills to assist these individuals by paying off some of my mortgage in lieu of a donation…or whatever else works…the Dave Matthews band has it so on in the song about where different classes of people are behaving according to their class expectations at the same time-all over the world-SO-WHAT NOW????

  13. I want to help. Just lost my job yesterday as an ER NP. I am also a Certified Nurse Midwife and Family Practice Nurse Practitioner. Please send information on how I can help. I can be gone probably a month maybe longer now that I don’t have a job.

  14. just received the following note from CNN –
    Thank you for contacting CNN.
    Please see http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/14/haiti.updates/index.html
    8:33 p.m. — American Express, MasterCard and Visa say they will waive transaction fees when people use credit cards to donate to charities helping in Haiti, according to CNN’s Jessica Yellin. Any transaction fees already collected in those transactions will be given to the charities, the credit card companies say.
    Andrew

  15. I just made an online donation to a disaster relief organization for Haiti. The thought occurred to me – “Its great to be able to make a donation so quickly…too bad the credit card companies are going to take a percentage of the money…”
    So why not press the credit card companies and ask them to waive their fees when donations are being made for disaster relief? They can certainly do their part and join with people and other companies throughout the world who are generously donating money, goods and supplies to help in this time of crisis and this extraordinary humanitarian effort.
    The credit card companies could certainly draft rules that would make it do-able, i.e. any donations to organizations within two weeks of a large scale disaster – something like that.
    If you like the idea, please forward it to media, politicians, corporations – anyone who you think can promote this idea or who can press the credit card companies to adopt it.
    Andrew
    Andrew Robinson, J.D.

  20. I am an intensve care nurse who would like to help in haiti.How do i go about this?

  23. I am a nurse who has a great desire to help with the medical relief in Haiti. I am an RN with BSN. I have experience in Post-op patients, medical, neuro, ER, ICU and telemetry patients. I have been a nurse for almost 8 years. I live in Casper, Wyoming. I am an experienced international traveler. I do not know where to sign up for medical relief help. If anyone has any advice for me please email me at cassieamadio@yahoo.com
    Thanks so much, Cassie Amadio