The USNS Comfort arrived in Port-au-Prince, Haiti yesterday to assist the Haitian people in the wake of a 7.0 earthquake that all but destroyed the port city. USNS Comfort personnel were faced with a constant procession of wounded, some brought by helicopter and some carried on board on stretchers.
Lt. Cmdr. Dan D’Aurora, the director of the USNS Comfort’s receiving ward and an officer in the ER at Bethesda, Maryland’s National Naval Medical Center, told the Baltimore Sun that he had seen “more patients in six hours” than he generally sees in a typical day.
Nevertheless, Lt. Cmdr. D’Aurora was glad to be in Haiti.
“This is what we train for. This is what it’s all about for us,” he said.
Patients were flown in by the Coast Guard, the Navy and the Air Force. A fleet of 30 helicopters transported ill and injured Haitians all day yesterday, and will continue to do so. About 70 Haitians were still on board the USNS Comfort, waiting to be triaged Wednesday evening when the helicopters landed for the day.
The United States military had planned on also running a boat shuttle, but transportation by water was not feasible following a 6.0 aftershock that “jolted” the USNS Comfort and badly damaged a nearby pier that USS Comfort personnel had planned on using to get patients on board.
True to the Navy, though, an alternate landing area for a boat shuttle had been determined by Wednesday afternoon in an effort to get as many patients on board and treated as possible.
Despite this, operations on board were slowed somewhat due to late arrival of another 350 crew members, most of who were scheduled to arrive by boat. They will trickle in within the next two days. Once all of the crew arrives, the USNS Comfort will be fully equipped to handle patients in need of treatment.
The USNS Comfort has 1,000 beds on board, and twelve operating rooms. While the ship has the capacity to treat thousands, the crew was overwhelmed yesterday. Helicopters had to wait their turn to land on the decks of the USNS Comfort.
When Haitians finally made it on board, they were transported to the main deck via elevator. The sight, one can imagine, was unforgettable: injured people – some on stretchers, carried by family members or strangers, some even wounded themselves – tumbling out of the cramped elevator to receive medical treatment from strangers.
A triage team assessed injuries before sending people into the elevators. Some patients wore stickers or tape with messages like “left leg” or “renal failure.” Before noon, the crew was prepping for a handful of surgeries, and at least twenty more had been scheduled by the end of the day. The crew faced difficult decisions: should they open another OR before the remaining crew members arrived? What if a patient came on board in need of extreme emergency care and the doctors were tied up in surgery?
Like any military man or woman in the face of a disastrous situation, there wasn’t much time to debate. The elevator doors kept opening, and the wounded kept coming.
Jeff Brown, a Navy Corpsman from Columbia, Maryland was assigned to the USNS Comfort almost three years ago, and has already been in Haiti twice. This time, though, it was much different.
“It’s a 180-degree turnaround from the last mission,” Brown said. “The desperation you sense in the patients..we’re here to take care of people and make a difference.”
The attitude on board the hospital ship, according to Brown, remains upbeat.
“Everyone is very motivated,” he said.
While the USNS Comfort is extremely well-equipped to treat individuals who have been severely wounded in a disaster, some patients required additional care. One Haitian man will be transported to an Army hospital in California, which specializes in treating combat-sustained injuries. The man was pumping gas when the earthquake hit, and the gas pump next to him exploded. He was badly burned and required amputation and burn-specific treatments.
The arrival of the USNS Comfort in Haiti has given the people there a sense of hope. Haitians shouted “USA! USA!” upon seeing the faces of American soldiers. While the recovery efforts are underway, Cmdr. Tim Donahue, head surgeon on board the USNS Comfort, reminds us that the process is just beginning.
“Haiti…is still dangerous,” he said. “A number of them [Haitians] have been injured in the last few days by walls falling on them. It shows how much work we have to do.”
Asbestos exposure fears in the aftermath of the earthquake
Following a natural disaster such as this, concerns about exposure to carcinogenic asbestos are high. Asbestos materials are often damaged as buildings crumble and fall in the wake of a high-magnitude earthquake, and during aftershocks. Exposure to asbestos may not present immediate concern, but in the long run, exposure may lead to the development of mesothelioma, a fatal form of cancer. The Haitian people, as well as those who have traveled to Haiti to assist with relief efforts, must be mindful of the fact that asbestos dust can linger in the air and be inhaled for days and weeks following the collapse of buildings.
While it may not be on the top of their priority list, those who may be in areas where asbestos has become airborne should wear a mask that adequately covers their nose and mouth in an effort to prevent inhalation.
If you would like to assist in the relief efforts in Haiti, Google has created a “Crisis Response” webpage to provide information for those who wish to make a donation. Please visit http://www.google.com/relief/haitiearthquake/.
Google has generously agreed to donate $1 million dollars to relief-focused organizations such as CARE and UNICEF.
