Haiti needs still great, doctors say

DALTON, Ga. -- Three local medical professionals who recently volunteered in Haiti say that weeks after the earthquake health care remains chaotic and unorganized.

Dr. Rodovaldo Rodriguez, a surgeon with North Georgia Surgery and Comprehensive Breast Center, said a night shift at the general hospital in Port-au-Prince was simply "god-awful."

"Maybe there were other places that had everything they needed, but certainly (at the general hospital) they didn't," Dr. Rodriguez said. "They were missing even the most basic things for medical care. You were really flying by the seat of your pants at night taking care of most of these patients."

Dr. Rodriguez, Dr. Pablo Perez of St. Joseph Clinic and Tracy Hooper, a family nurse practitioner with The Health Depot in Chatsworth, Ga., and with Memorial Health Partners, spent Jan. 29 through Feb. 3 in Haiti.

They went with a team of about 16 through Project Haiti Heart, a nonprofit medical organization, and worked most of the time with hundreds of patients at the Haitian Christian Mission's small hospital and clinic at Fond Parisien.

One night, however, they traveled to Port-au-Prince for a shift at the general hospital. Much of the hospital was destroyed in the earthquake and they worked with patients in tents, said Ms. Hooper.

Dr. Rodriguez spent the night in the surgical ward with about 50 patients, while Dr. Perez and Ms. Hooper were in the intensive care unit with about 30.

Dr. Perez said they had to share the only oxygen tank and nasal tubing among patients in ICU.

There were no ventilators, no anesthesia, no X-ray machines and many other missing supplies, Dr. Rodriguez said. Patients didn't have charts, so doctors had to decipher scribbled notes on crumpled pieces of paper taped to the foot of patients' beds, he said.

"Most of the people, you know that if it was back here (in the U.S.), it wouldn't be a big deal, but there they're dying because of lack of basic things," Dr. Rodriguez said. "It was heartbreaking."

Still, there were triumphant moments.

Ms. Hooper recalled one female patient suffering from complications after surgery for a ruptured ovarian cyst. Ms. Hooper was sure the patient would die, but she was better by morning. She watched the patient's sister raise her hand and trace an imaginary cross in the air when she learned the news.

"Sometimes it was frustrating because you didn't feel like you could do enough with the limited resources that you had," Ms. Hooper said. "But, then, when you did see that you made a difference, it was pretty worthwhile."

The group said they're concerned about the death toll to come in Haiti, especially with the rainy season on its way. Such weather will spread disease from unsanitary conditions and decomposing bodies still buried under the rubble, Ms. Hooper said.

They're hoping supplies and aid will make it soon to the general hospital and are planning another volunteer trip this summer.

"We've been impacted by how people live, how they reacted to this tragedy (with resilience) and how they struggled to survive," Dr. Perez said.

HOW TO HELP

* Dr. Pablo Perez, Dr. Rodovaldo Rodriguez and nurse Tracy Hooper recommend donating to Project Haiti Heart and the Haitian Christian Mission.

* To learn more about these organizations and to donate, visit the Web sites www.projecthaitiheart.org and www.hcmsupport.org.

Sources: Medical professionals and Web sites

MORE ONLINE

Go to timesfreepress.com/haitiearthquake for all the Chattanooga Times Free Press stories, photos and videos on the disaster. Get information about how to help.

Upcoming Events