Before dawn on Tuesday, Jan. 26, a team of Yale New Haven Hospital and Yale School of Medicine physicians and medical professionals trained in disaster response gathered for the five-hour flight to earthquake-ravaged Haiti. In addition to providing trauma and surgical expertise, the team is carrying 1,100 lbs of medical and surgical supplies to help thousands of injured people and prevent further spread of infection.
AMR, the medical transportation company, provided transportation for both the equipment and the staff who flew out of Teterboro, NJ, on a plane donated by business jet manufacturer Dassault Falcon. Corporate Aircraft Responding in Emergencies, a network of aviation specialists who assist as first responders to catastrophic events, helped make the arrangements for the trip.
The Yale New Haven team includes: Ralph Jean-Mary, emergency department business manager; Tom Kimberly, APRN - emergency department; Gregory Luke Larkin, MD - emergency medicine; Donald MacMillan, PA - emergency department; Nousheh Saidi, MD - anesthesiology, and Peter Boone, MD - orthopaedics, St. Vincent's Hospital, Bridgeport;.
The team will fly into one of the few operational medical centers in the Hinche region of Haiti, and is expected to remain in Haiti for approximately two weeks, linking with Partners in Health, the Boston-based organization that has been working in Haiti for more than 20 years. YNHH has pledged $5,000 to a fund that the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven will administer for relief and reconstruction in Haiti, and has also donated about $25,000 worth of medical supplies.
To donate using a credit card, go to the Community Foundation web site and click on the Haiti item.
Checks should be made out to Community Foundation NAACP Haitian Fund and mailed to:
The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven
70 Audubon Street,
New Haven, CT 06510
