Gerald King, MD Trip Report

Dr Gerald King, LLUSM 77A graduate and alumnus of the LL orthopaedic residency, spent a week earlier this month volunteering at the Hopital Adventiste d'Haiti and kindly sent the following report.  Dr King is currently in private practice in North Carolina.

It was certainly an amazing experience. Having been to Haiti  before and of course seeing the pictures on TV, I would say that nothing was shocking. That said , the place is in a desperate situation/condition from which I am not sure that it is recoverable. The destruction is massive and the need overwhelming.

The people are remarkable, can you imagine people with 3 week old fracture dislocations of their hips lying around on mats in this country patiently waiting for someone to help them? These people have patience, humility, stoicism, pain tolerance and acceptance that I can only dream that I or my patients would have.

I agree with someone that said that there  should be no egos among those that want to go to help. You better be willing to do anything to help or you will get little done which means being everything from an orderly, IV tech, scrub tech, assistant, surgeon, etc. There are no heroes in the workers, only those that have survived. 

The needs continue to evolve from amputations, which by the 2-3 week period we were doing little of, to delayed fracture management and wound coverage/debridement, etc. The more comfortable you are with trauma and trauma reconstruction, the more beneficial you will be.

The hours are long, up at 6am and surgery usually ended about 10:30pm.  Provide/made our own food  which we carried in.  Bottled water provided, running water inconsistent.  Slept on a mat on the floor. We scrubbed with brushes and then had someone pour bottled water over us to rinse. We did the best we could with sterile technique but it left something to be desired.

I was outside of the hospital grounds for only about an hour and a half total for the entire week as the needs were massive and we simply did not have time to leave.

There is a short list of what you need to take. Scrubs for every day if you are going to a hospital. Bandage scissors, good headlamp to do surgery by. Footwear that you can rinse off after surgery. Fanny pack to keep everything that is important to you in.  I would recommend a small camera rather than the full size one that I took. Personal wipes and cleaning wipes as showering is at best inconsistent. You will not likely be able to wash anything other than rinsing it out. Electricity was consistent so I would take an electrical pot to heat up some water to use for cooking your MREs or having a cup of coffee, etc. You will be camping for whatever time you are there.

Hopefully this will be helpful. Obviously my comments are in regards to the Adventist Hospital and I cannot  make any comments about other locations or facilities.  Scott Nelson is remarkable and deserves our support. I am a big fan. The fact that he is willing to stay there and provide continuity of care rather than reinvent the wheel with each group that comes through is priceless. He has accumulated impressive equipment considering the location. The facility desperately needs better sterilization capabilities.  

Jerry King