Day 5: Summary Update - Med Gps (No 6 of 6)

Day 5: Summary Update - Med Gps (No 6 of 6)
As of Sat eve.

FIELD UPDATES from MSF, Gheskio

MSF:

On Saturday, MSF updated reporters, confirming partial damage to its three medical facilities (a health centre in Martissant slum, the Trinity trauma centre (60 beds), the Solidarité maternity hospital, a 75 bed emergency obstetric facility). Like other groups, they have patients everywhere lying wounded, waiting for operations for broken bones and bodies. MSF had treated over 2000 patients as of their Sat press conference.

MSF reported: “Our medical teams are dealing only with trauma cases – mostly head injuries and multiple fractures. 125 patients were treated on Friday alone. The surgical teams have started doing amputations and there are currently seven paralysed patients in the health centre. A new surgical team have arrived to take over from the existing team, who are exhausted.

Trinite hospital collapsed in the earthquake and we still do not know how many patients are stuck under the rubble….”

Gheskio:

Downtown on Harry Truman Blvd, the Gheskio group reported that it had resumed activity despite considerable damage to its clinical facility. Some staff are missing but many have returned and are working round the clock. Gheskio is getting funding and logistical support from its longtime partner, Cornell University.
One of the US military’s front line sites was being established at their hospital.

Gheskio’s surviving doctors are actively treating a huge influx of the ill, and have also begun to address the needs of TB and HIV patients. (HIV patients must get daily antiretroviral medicines, or they may develop resistance to treatment. Treatment interruptions that occurred as a result of the quake worry doctors since patients lack prescriptions to indicate what they were taking, etc. – a medical, prescriptive nightmare. More on this soon).

Gheskio continues to be in urgent need of cash to pay for fuel and to pay for repair to the physical structure of their facility. Like others, they are working with limited medicine and have helped other groups establish parking lot and field orthopedic and surgical centers. Some severely wounded patients are being airlifted to other hospitals in and outside Haiti. Gheskio expects a solar power water filtration unit to arrive from World Water Relief on Sunday, which will greatly help with 1000+homeless, many wounded, that are camped on field near the hospital.