Vanderbilt Anesthesiololgy

Dr. Easdown (center front) and others depart for Haiti

Many of us are eager use our medical skills to assist in the tragedy in Haiti.  One surgical group there is reporting the mortality rate among the seriously injured at 25% currently. Hopefully, this can be improved. Dr. Jane Easdown departed the US on Sunday as part of an Operation Smile surgical team. The group of approximately 20, is made up of anesthesiologists, ortho surgeons, trauma surgeons, and GI specialists ( approximately 20 people). Follow the progress of Dr. Easdown and the Operation Smile group through their blog, http://www.operationsmile.org/haiti/

Operation Smile plans to send a surgical team every two weeks and is now forming the next group.  Project Hope is also looking for surgical teams to staff the USNS Comfort ship, a 1,000-bed floating hospital. There are also teams being coordinated through the Tennessee Society of Anesthesiologists, with the immediate need for an anesthesiologist to travel with a team from Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga for a week, beginning Wednesday, January 27th.
 

If you are interested in providing anesthesia services in Haiti over the next weeks or months, please email Suzette Laws, so that she can communicate with you regarding opportunities as they arise.

Find additional information regarding relief efforts at the following sites:

• Partners in Health   www.pih.org   (Paul Farmer’s group)
• Operation SMILE   www.OperationSmile.org       
• Project Hope www.projecthope.org  email: mmullins@projecthope.org
• Help Brings Hope For Haiti,   www.hbhh.org
• USAID http://www.usaid.gov/
• Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health (VIGH): www.vanderbilt.edu/vio/Haiti

Please also consider making financial contributions to these relief agencies, as drugs and medical supplies are in great shortage.