Weill Cornell Global Health
 



10 Ways Your Donations Are Helping

10 Ways Your Donations Are Helping (January 19, 2010, 1030am)

1. Fuel for generators and ambulances

2. Solar powered light poles to manage 5000-member refugees

3. Flash lights

4. Food bars

5. Pain Killers of all types: oral, IV and IM

6. Stretchers to carry patients

7. Light weight beds

8. Sleeping bags

9. Oral Rehydration Solutions

10. Tents for 100 clinic triage for family of 6

January 17, 2010 4pm HAITI UPDATE
GHESKIO on the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams
 - Dr. Marie-Marcelle Deschamps, a senior physician at GHESKIO, speaks about the situation at the clinic.
 
  Aerial view of the GHESKIO compound (outlined in yellow) in the heart of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. 2,500 refugees can be seen camped on the adjacent field. (Courtesy of MSNBC)
 
   Schematic View of Affected areas of Port-au-Prince. The areas of the city with the most widespread building damage are indicated in Red. Camps of displaced people are indicated by the Black dots. The Yellow arrow highlights the GHESKIO site, adjacent to the most affected areas. Source: Wall Street Journal (Jan 16th/17th, 2010 A7)

 

January 16, 2010 5:30pm HAITI UPDATE

Communication from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Dr. Jean (Bill) Pape, Director of GHESKIO and Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College

Received at 12:10pm
“We are doing all we can to fulfill 3 missions at the same time:
1. Keep services to the large number of GHESKIO patients- AIDS, TB, etc. We are actively seeing patients and have a distribution system in place in PAP for ARV and TB at various locations.
2. Provide humanitarian services to the over 1,000 refugees at our clinic: we were finally able to repair the water pipes , activate the pump , get water- to which I added chlorine (brings me back > 30 years ago when I was working in the rehydration unit) . We are actively distributing water to the local population.
3. Set up field emergency services: the US assessment team was just here. I have shown them where we want to place the unit. They will return with a full 35 person team some time late this afternoon. The plan is to have a fully operational triage unit at GHESKIO. We are working closely with the State University Hospital.
 Issues we are dealing with at GHESKIO:
1. Most of the administrative and lab buildings are not safe. We just had another aftershock and the entire place shook like a leaf. I have evacuated my office. We are in the process of moving all the accounting books to a safe place.
2. I have asked the lab to prepare a contingency plan. We may have to move the main lab to IMIS.
3. There are broken tubes containing MDRTB and other TB strains. The TB lab will be sealed until it can be decontaminated. 
4. We have broken walls all around the property and with the large crowd and no electricity, it is dangerous. Furthermore, all the prisoners have escaped the nearby National Prison. To date we have had NO SECURITY ISSUES.
5. There is a truck full of food that the DR wants to give me but we do not have the logistics or security. I am seeking other means to help the poor people who are very hungry.
6. We will put the US Triage team in the interior space between two standing buildings to separate them from the large crowd in the adjacent field.  
7. FUEL: we have no fuel and I am using some of the reserve generator fuel for cars that will bring key staff and to transport patients to hospitals.
8. CASH: all the banks are closed and many of their offices destroyed. Citiibank, where we had our account, is completely destroyed. I am working with Capital bank which had the least damage to see how we can transfer funds from New York.
Will keep you posted.”
 Bill Pape
 
January 15, 2010 2pm HAITI UPDATE

GHESKIO is open for patients! Even though the damage to GHESKIO facilities is extensive and the reconstruction cost could be in the millions, Dr. Patrice Severe and Dr. Rose Verdier are at the GHESKIO clinics providing what treatment they can. They will have to find a way to treat not only the victims of the recent earthquake, but also their regular patients, many of whom depend on antiretroviral therapy and TB drugs.

Dr. Jean Pape says, "This is the worst tragedy I have ever witnessed.  It will take some time but I am convinced that with our dedication and effort we will succeed to get our country back. "

January 15, 2010, 11:00am HAITI UPDATE

This morning Dr. Severe, Limates, Gyrlande, and Rosie are at the GHESKIO clinic providing triage services to people who are camped out surrounding the clinic. They have no supplies.

List of People Who are OK as of 1/17/10 12pm

Note: Jolion McGreevy was not in Haiti during the earthquake.

Adias Marcelin and Family
Alex Ambroise
Miss Bosquet- pediatrics
Anne Macdonald
Claudia Richie
Cynthia Riviere
Dmitri- IMIS
Elizabeth Fox
Dr. Ferdinand from adolescent clinic
Madam Fortilus
Frank- driver
Gyrlande
Jean Juste
Dr. Jean Pape and family
Jenny- IMIS
Josea
Kesmeer Jean Louis
Limates
Dr. Linda Severe and family
Dr. Macarthur Charles
Marc Antoine and family
Marie Gauthier
Marie Jean Jacques
Marie Marcelle Deschamps
Melissa Ethehart
Milford- but currently homeless
Oksana Ocheterina
Dr. Patrice Severe
Rebecca Heidkamp
Reggie
Reynald Grand Pierre
Rode Secours
Rose Verdier
Sabine Prince
Sandra Apollon
Sandra Camille
Serge Marcelin
Thomas Dugue
Valerie Francois
Vanessa Roussard

A Message From Anne D. Macdonald 1/14/10 7pm

The center of Port-au-Prince that's usually a lively park and marketplace has been transformed into a refugee camp with thousands of people living on top of each other in a tent village, along with every other open space as people are still terrified from the aftershocks to be in buildings.  No area of the city has been left unharmed, from the national landmarks of the Palais Nacionale and the Hotel Montana to the economic drivers of the port and many of the specialized industries.  It seems like every fourth building is completely collapsed on itself and within it are undoubtedly people.  Families and friends have gathered around cadavers of loved ones in the streets and temporary morgues with people attempting to place ice on bodies are visible about every 300 feet in the center of the city. The major supermarket collapsed and the main other food sources and wholesalers are removed from each other by impassable roads. 

January 14, 2010, 6:30pm HAITI UPDATE

We were saddened to hear that a number of the GHESKIO staff have lost their families and many are still missing. Many have lost their homes and are living outside.

Dr. Pape is trying to assess the situation on the ground, but has not been able to reach GHESKIO due to road blockages. We will hopefully be able to open the clinic soon to care for the 100,000 current GHESKIO patients. He has been in communication with the Haitian Government, US government, and UN agencies, and has offered clinical facilities in Port au Prince  as emergency field bases. It will require tents, generators, operating rooms, water supply, security.  We will keep you up to date on this.

 A major concern now is security - several million homeless persons are without food and water.  There  is no electricity - the city is blacked out - the walls surrounding GHESKIO have collapsed and there are no longer any guards.

January 13, 2010, 10:00am HAITI UPDATE

An earthquake devastated Haiti's capitol, Port-au-Prince around 5pm Tuesday evening 1/12/10.

The Cornell affiliated GHESKIO clinic is in downtown Port-au-Prince. GHESKIO physician Dr. Rodney Destine reports that "walls collapsed at GHESKIO but people were ok".

GHESKIO doctors and staff are establishing emergency services at our clinic. Please check this website, we will continue to update throughout the day as more information becomes available.

 

10:15am

We have received an e-mail from Dr. Macarthur Charles that he is ok and the IMIS facility is standing.

 12:30pm

Sandra Camille and Valerie Francois are ok.

 1:45pm

Oksana Ocheterina, Elizabeth Fox, and Rebecca Heidkamp are reported to be safe at Le Clos.

We have learned that the homes of several of our staff were destroyed, and they and their families are staying with friends or had to sleep outside last night.

 3:30pm

Madam Fortilus is ok as well as Josea, Frank and Reggie.
Milford is ok but is homeless. His family is fine. Sandra Apollon is ok, her nephews are injured. The gates at gheskio fell, the buildings are unstable.


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