Two
additional LLU medical teams arrive in Haiti;
Hopital Adventiste d’Haiti endures additional seismic
activity
Two additional teams from Loma Linda University have
arrived in Haiti to continue support of Hopital
Adventiste d’Haiti (HAH), a 70-bed facility built in
1978 that is serving as one of the clinical centers for
the nation.
On Friday, January 22, Haiti sustained yet another
earthquake that has resulted in structural damage to
parts of the hospital. On the advice of geological
experts, patients waiting for treatment and their
families have been moved outside of the structure. A new
inflatable outdoor O.R. tent has been established
outside of the hospital, courtesy of GlobalMedic. This
will help to accommodate the more than 400 people
waiting for surgery.
In 2003, the hospital joined Adventist Health
International, an nonprofit international organization
based at Loma Linda University.
On Thursday, January 21, two orthopedic surgeons and a
translator arrived in Haiti, bringing additional
supplies and a much-needed sterilizer.
“Several members of the LLU School
of Medicine class of 2010 prepared a shipment for the
hospital that included several surgical saws and the
sterilizer,”
says Dustin Jones, associate director of public
relations at LLU. “Their support for the hospital in
Haiti and our teams there has been amazing.”
The School of Medicine class of 2010 spent this last
weekend speaking to several community groups trying to
raise funds for the hospital. Three years ago, the class
adopted the hospital in Haiti and has been involved with
it since then.
Additionally, a team was deployed from the School of
Public Health’s Center for Public Health Preparedness.
This team will be collaborating with the Adventist
Development and Relief Agency and HAH with rapid public
health assessments that will serve as the baseline for
relief efforts from this point forward.
The team will also focus on the availability and quality
of safe water, sanitation needs, food security, shelter,
vector control (mosquitoes, etc.), and
control/prevention of infectious disease transmission.
Loma Linda University is partnering with Park Ridge
Hospital (Hendersonville, North Carolina) and Florida
Hospital (Orlando, Florida) to help maximize response to
the humanitarian crisis in Haiti. From this
collaborative effort, a reliable system for scheduling
and transporting medical teams, supplies, and equipment
into Port-au-Prince is emerging. More than 30 pallets of
supplies have already been transported to HAH.
The Global Health Institute at LLU continues
to collect names of individuals who possess skills that
would be best suited to assist at the hospital, as well
as medical supplies.
A website at LLU was created to accept donations for
Hopital Adventiste d’Haiti. Funds donated thus far have
been used to purchase a sterilizer, a generator,
orthopedic saws, medications, and other medical
supplies.
Individuals who would like to donate to the relief
effort of HAH are invited to visit the website at <www.llu.edu>
or to contact the LLU office of philanthropy at P.O. Box
2000, Loma Linda, CA 92354. The phone number is (909)
558-5010. Please make checks payable to: Loma Linda
University—Haiti Earthquake.
