Are you a physician who wants to volunteer? Find out more about medical aid volunteer opportunties in Haiti and elsewhere in the "Volunteering" section on the Doctor's Review magazine website.
In addition to the important, high-profile contributions by Canadian physicians and staff working in Haiti with the Canadian Forces and major aid organizations like Médecins sans frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and the Red Cross, there have been other, less-heralded efforts by Canadian physicians.
Soon after the devastating earthquake hit, Health Partners International of Canada solicited pharmaceutical companies to donate medicine for 100 Physician Travel Packs to help doctors treat patients in Haiti. Many more shipments of drugs have been shipped since, including several sent along with a team of Haitian-Canadian doctors who left Montreal last Thursday to go help. [HPIC's Haiti Response]
Dr Tiffany Keenan, an emergency physician from Miramichi, New Brunswick who now lives in Bermuda, arrived in Jacmel, Haiti, last Wednesday to provide medical care and distribute humanitarian aid on behalf of the NGO she founded, Haiti Village Health. Soon after her arrival, she posted an update on her blog.
"The epicenter of the earthquake hit Grand Goave and Petit goave not much more than 20 miles from here. We had a medical team of EMTs out there today and they witnessed devastation. 4 people in need of amputations, one amputation in the field with a saw and no anesthetic, a field of 1500 people awaiting health care. we are trying to arrange flights into there tomorrow. We have told the Canadians about the situation, but their present mandate is to set up the field hospital in jacmel. We are hoping to reach the area tomorrow by private aircraft My new best fried Jonathan is willing to fly just about anywhere with his small cesna. He did a recon mission today but was unable to land. They advised the people to clear the airstrip with machetes to cut down some trees. We are hoping it will be ready in the morning."For more updates on Dr Keenan's work in Haiti, visit her blog at http://haitivillagehealth.blogspot.com.
Dr John Yates, from Oakville, Ontario, has lived and practised in Haiti since 1991. Residents know him as "the White Haitian." He was in Canada when the quake struck but returned home to Haiti as soon as he could, with a CTV documentary news crew tagging along. Their piece will air on the program W5 on Saturday. [CTV News]
Do you know any Canadian physicians currently helping in Haiti? Let us know so we can list them here and help draw attention to their work.
Photo: Haiti Village Health
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