Family Health Ministries updates

I first went to Haiti during the summer after my first year of medical school, in 2006 and it was through Family Health Ministries in Durham, NC. They are posting updates regularly on their website as well: http://www.familyhm.org/. Here is a direct link to updates:
http://www.familyhm.org/whatweknow.html#unconfirmed" Many of these people are ones that I have worked with directly during the two months that I spent in Haiti through this organization.

I received this today from David Walmer (he and his wife run this organization):

Friends,

There has been a clamoring for people who want to help. We now have an opportunity but need to move quickly.

The CDC is going to coordinate the public health response & FHM is working with them & other groups in the area. We are all concerned that the efforts are all directed at Port-au-Prince and other affected areas are being neglected. Leogane is a much smaller community and as you can see from the article has huge needs (5,000-10,000 dead and 90% of the town destroyed. (http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_478230.html) This is the community where we are planning to build our hospital so we have many friends and are vested in helping them respond. The bypass is OK & we have had planes donated to us to fly medical supplies in and land on the bypass. Leogane is in a perfect location to serve as a staging place for points west of PaP. We are working on putting together a medical team on the ground (available Haitians) but if there are US professionals with special skills (anesthesia, orthopedic, trauma, emergency, etc.) we can use you.

We are planning to gather supplies from REMEDY tomorrow but may be able to use more than they can provide and we need medications.

What we need:

1. medical supplies gathered quickly (by Tuesday)
2. a volunteer to drive them to Fort Lauderdale to meet the plane (Wednesday)
   

Supplies:

1. antibiotics
2. analgesics
3. sedatives
4. orthopedic supplies (casting, etc.)
5. surgical supplies (gloves, gowns, masks, scrub brushes, suture, etc.)
6. anything for anesthesia
7. water treatment materials
8. IV fluids, dressing materials, betadine, etc.
9. tents
10. anything else useful for trauma
    

Please spread the word to anyone who might be able to help.
Wave two of support will include food & water. Stay tuned...

David Walmer

1/12/10 9:38pm

Dear Friends,

We are having tremendous difficulty getting information out of Haiti regarding today’s events. We have been notified that contact has been made with Leon Dorleans and they are safe. Unfortunately, as we go south toward the epicenter and nearer to our Leogane community we are unable to get through. Please keep all of Haiti in your prayers, but selfishly we ask for prayers for our partners Leon and Jackie Dorlean’s, the community of Blanchard, the Blanchard staff...Megan our US volunteer in Leogane, Jamalyn...our Fondwa project coordinator and the team she took to Haiti on Monday, The Sisters of Fondwa, all the children in the Fondwa school and orphanage. We have so many friends and family…please keep them in your prayers.

Feel free to give me a call or send me an email. We are happy to let you know what we know which unfortunately at this point is not much more than what you can watch on CNN.

Please pray for the people of Haiti"