February 4, 2010: Hope Force veteran staff member, Craig Snow, went to the Adventist Hospital near Port-au-Prince to further our medical assessment efforts. He saw first-hand the profound impact that our orthopedic supplies are having “on the ground”. Smith & Nephew, the country’s largest supplier of orthopedic implants and instruments, is responsible for donating $2 million of orthopaedic supplies to HFI, and the donation has already been distributed. Altogether, HFI has procured $3 million of medical supplies -- much of which has already been delivered in country.
Craig relates, “Dr. Scott Nelson stepped out of surgery to meet us and was very welcoming. We informed him about the donation of Pelvic Fragment Trays and he was very excited. They had a pelvic surgery case scheduled for that afternoon and they didn’t have the needed equipment until we showed up! It was a moving experience to be a part of a miracle.”
Dr. Nelson has made a commitment of six months to assist the Adventist Hospital expand its surgical capabilities to become a primary center of orthopedic services for Haiti. Loma Linda University, a leading educational health-sciences institution located in Southern California, has made a commitment to help upgrade the facilities to help accomplish this endeavor.
In another location, Kia Jacmel, two of the first surgeons to utilize the Smith & Nephew orthopedic sets are having a profound impact on local surgical capabilities. Dr. Tim reports, “I did a lot of surgery and the orthopedic sets got good use. In fact, they are still being used. I'm leaving behind a couple of orthopedic guys who just got in and will continue to benefit from the sets – as will their patients. I had a Haitian general surgeon who lives here operate with me, as did Dr. Mac. We showed him how to use the instruments. I told them all I'd leave the sets behind so that they could continue to better treat these poor people.”
The clinic has now become a referral center for patients from Port-au-Prince as well as the Red Cross, other hospitals and clinics. The word has gotten around about the capabilities of this facility, its equipment and personnel. The joint project on behalf of Hope Force and the generous Smith & Nephew donation will bring healing to the people of Haiti for a long time to come.
Hope Force President, Jack Minton explains: “ Our efforts are focusing on responsible distribution of these valuable products to ensure long-term sustainability. I am very encouraged to hear of the training we’ve been able to do with national Haitian surgeons. In fact, I’m sure some of our own surgeons have learned a lot from them as we  ll. The reports from these two medical facilities are typical of what we are finding as the significant impact of this donation is being fully realized. Every gift makes this possible. We have started the process of careful assessments and measured distribution. Although the project is not fully funded yet, we have confidence that our friends and donors will stand with us through their generous giving."
January 27, 2010: Dr. Timothy Browne is a Hope Force Board Member and a frequent participant in efforts aimed at reaching the most vulnerable victims in disaster scenarios. The following account of his surgical experience in Haiti was originally addressed to the Haiti task force at the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
“I work with Hope Force International and just returned from Haiti. We were partnered with World Relief, Medical Teams International and SIGN (Surgical Implant Generation Network) in Port-au-Prince at King's Hospital. It is a fully functioning hospital with approximately 60 bed capacity and (now) two fully functional operating rooms. Our teams were doing approximately 10 cases a day that ranged from wash outs of open fractures and stabilization, amputations to IM (Intramedullary) nailing of femur fractures. The amount of Orthopaedic trauma is unprecedented.
“Hope Force International has also received a generous donation from Smith and Nephew and we are working around the clock to get the donation in country and distributed to the hospitals that are in both need of it and have the capacity to use it. Many hospitals have not had electricity or sterilization. Most patients are without x-rays and we know of no facility that has a c-arm. Hope Force International was able to secure and transport a new anesthesia machine to the hospital. USAID helped in getting the machine to Port-au-Prince and the Canadian military delivered it to the roof of the hospital by chopper.
“Your reports are very accurate that address the chaos. No time in history has there been such an event that created a total collapse of the country's main infrastructure. Many volunteers have been frustrated but not being able to get in country and help but people need to understand that this is very much like a war zone. Just the logistics to house and feed the current volunteers is a tremendous challenge.
“This tragedy has created a huge opportunity for the Orthopaedic Surgery community to respond. It will be a long term project. All these fractures that have been provisionally stabilized will need definitive treatment. Untreated fractures will need addressing. The unfortunate complications, non-unions and mal-unions will require care.
“Hope Force International will continue rotating surgical teams through. We have identified two Haitian Orthopaedic Surgeons that will work along side of us and we hope to move towards a trauma conference in the next two months.”
World Relief team members are pictured below with Hope Force staff members in Haiti.
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