CHOP deploys medical team for pediatric care in Haiti

Jan 31 2010

Global Health at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is deploying a medical team to Haiti today in response to an urgent call from Partners In Health for pediatric experts to care for children with injuries related to the Jan. 12 earthquake at the University Hospital in Port-au-Prince. This will be the first dedicated pediatric medical team providing care on the ground at this facility in Port-au-Prince.

After gathering at The Children's Hospital for a final orientation meeting, the medical team will depart to Chester County Airport in Coatesville, Pa., where they are to fly on two private jets to Chicago. At that juncture, the medical team will take a flight arranged by Partners In Health (PIH) from Chicago for the 10-day trip, and join PIH members who have arranged a flight to Haiti.

The 12-member team, led by Fred Henretig, M.D., includes doctors and nurses from Children's Hospital's emergency, critical care and transport teams, as well as a doctor from the emergency department at the Hospital of The University of Pennsylvania. The team expects to see patients at University Hospital in Port-au-Prince (HUEH) and treat children with crush injuries, bone fractures, wound infections, post amputation and other illnesses.

"There is a dire need for pediatric care in Haiti right now, and we are anxious to receive the medical expertise from the doctors and nurses from Children's Hospital who have volunteered to go on the trip," said Joe Rhatigan, a team member from Partners In Health. "We are grateful for their nimbleness in responding to our request so quickly. This immediate response will certainly have major impact for the multitude of pediatric patients requiring treatment."

After the earthquake struck Haiti, more than 400 Children's Hospital employees submitted applications for consideration as a volunteer through the Global Health Haiti Disaster Response program.  In addition, Children's Hospital employees have worked for weeks to identify and obtain critical equipment to send into Haiti.

"Our past Global Health outreach to Haitian children living in the Dominican Republic makes us uniquely suited to offer medical support to Haiti during this time of crisis," said Global Health director Rodney Finalle, M.D., "We would like to thank all of the employees at Children's Hospital for supporting this effort."

After the earthquake struck Haiti, Partners In Health quickly established field hospitals in Port-au-Prince, and currently has 20 operating rooms up and running, with 12 functioning 24-hours a day.  PIH has been designated by the World Health Organization to serve as the primary coordinators of HUEH hospital.