Repost: SC chosen as site to bring in Americans from Haiti

source: Local ABC news in Charleston, SC, and AP

SC chosen as site to bring in Americans from Haiti

Updated: Feb 03, 2010 5:55 PM

CHARLESTON, SC (WMBF) - South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has announced the Palmetto State has been designated as a staging area for bringing in Americans from Haiti displaced by the earthquake.

The governor says the federal government has chosen Charleston as a repatriation site through which Americans living in Haiti will travel to their former hometowns or to relatives elsewhere in the country.

The governor also says the National Disaster Medical System has been activated to help Haitian patients needing advanced medical care. South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control officials say the agency will be spearheading the coordination of the medical service requests.

DHEC employees will be on site at the Charleston Airport assessing incoming victims with a questionnaire. Should it be determined a person needs a tetanus shot, DHEC staff will address the issue at the airport.

Should further medical care be needed, a spokeswoman from the Medical University of South Carolina says the Charleston area hospital has been tapped to help on the medical front. The spokeswoman says she only expects the hospital to see U.S. citizens, but says patient demographics could change in upcoming days.

The MUSC Children's Hospital has also been working with Trident United Way to help provide trained volunteers who will be staged at the airport. Officials say they are expecting the arrival of 180 children in the first Haiti transport to Charleston.

Officials in Charleston say they don't have confirmed information on when repatriation flights may arrive.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

Copyright 2010 WMBF News. All rights reserved.