Campus Aid to Haitian Community

The devastating earthquake that hit Haiti in January is estimated to have killed or injured more than a half a million people. It left one million Haitians homeless. While the international community launched major aid missions, members of the BU Medical Campus responded with an outpouring of assistance through donations to organizations doing relief work in Haiti as well as initiating individual activities to provide assistance to the people of Haiti. Here is a sampling of some of the generous involvement by members of the campus community.

Thea James, MD, assistant professor of emergency medicine and David Hirsch, MD, instructor in emergency medicine and both members of the Emergency Department at Boston Medical Center, went to Haiti as part of the Massachusetts Disaster Medical Assistance Team which responds to national disasters to set up field hospitals and provide medical care. James made a second trip to Haiti, often working 18-hour days at a mobile hospital near Tent City in Port-au-Prince. Michele David, MD, associate professor of medicine and co-director of the Haitian Health Institute at Boston Medical Center also went to Haiti to provide medical assistance.

Susanna Walsh, MD, clinical assistant professor of ob-gyn, spent a week in Haiti as part of a surgical team organized by the University of Vermont Medical School to provide orthopedic and plastic surgery, and wound care. Jennifer Dwan, MD, assistant professor of ob-gyn, and her husband spent 10 days in a town outside of Port-au-Prince with a medical team organized by Family Health Ministries that provide care to more than 1500 Haitians.

Here in the U.S., Renee Boynton-Jarrett, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics, and Nicole Prudent, MD, clinical assistant professor of pediatrics, organized the Haitian Earthquake Long-term Pediatric Support (Anmwe/HELPS) program to provide a systematic response to those in the local Haitian community affected by the earthquake, including those who lost family members and those caring for family members especially children who were forced to leave Haiti because of the quake. The program provides education and training for providers and educators responding to traumatic stress and supporting grieving families. Utilizing existing services at Boston Medical Center and in the community, they initiated an on-call system to share available resources, a coordinated referral process, and expanded support services to connect families with community-based resources.

Moses Toussant, a secretary in the out-patient neurology clinic and a Haitian-American, collected funds, clothing, and hygienic supplies and sent them to help a small community outside of Port-au-Prince.

Student leaders in the BUSM International Health Organization worked with Drs. David and Prudent to find ways that students could volunteer. Several events were organized by BUSM and BUSPH students that raised more than $3,500 to aid the victims of the earthquake, and a forum on the aftermath of the earthquake and the role of public health.

Hilary Johnston-Cox ’15 and Nahomy Calixte ’11 used their $1,000 Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Student Service Project Award to support the Haitian Health Career Leadership Conference sponsored by the Haitian Health Institute at Boston Medical Center that addressed “Lessons from the Haiti Earthquake: Emergency Preparedness, Relief and Beyond.”