Catholic Universe Bulletin

World News #1 | #2 | #3 | #4
Click on number above to see other local stories

US medical teams in Haiti refocus medical care on chronic illnesses
Tom Tracy
Catholic News Service
PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI-On her second medical mission to Haiti since the Jan. 12 earthquake, Patty Skoglund, a disaster response expert with Scripps Health in San Diego, sees an evolution in medical treatment taking place. "It went from a completely surgical focus to a chronic‑care focus," said Skoglund, whose team saw 200 patients at St. Francis de Sales Hospital in the center of the most devastated part of the Haitian capital March 1. The hospital has been caring for 65 patients ‑‑ about half its normal number ‑‑ at any given time, under tents and tarps.

Three U.S. bishops ‑‑ Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston, Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of San Antonio and Auxiliary Bishop Guy Sansaricq of Brooklyn, N.Y. ‑‑ were to visit the hospital March 2 as part of a three‑day visit to assess the rebuilding needs of the Catholic Church in Haiti.
Skoglund said the Scripps Health team treated patients with malaria, malnutrition, dehydration, infections and tetanus. The team, the third sent to Haiti, also saw patients with stress‑related complications such as ulcers, stomach illnesses and high blood pressure.

TOM TRACY/CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
Archbishop Bernardito Auza, papal nuncio to Haiti, visits with a young patient on the grounds of St. Francis de Sales Hospital in Port au Prince, Haiti, March 2.

"It is earthquake‑related in reference to lack of care available right now," Skoglund said. "The first team we came with was surgical‑focused and we did about 20 surgeries a day. Today they are doing about five to six cases a day."
The team also treated a few people with broken bones and serious lacerations. There also were follow‑up repair procedures stemming from original surgeries, routine checkups and dressings that needed changing.
Working in seven‑day shifts, the rotating medical teams from California have marveled at the quiet resilience of the Haitian people. Haiti is the first international response Scripps has been involved with at the invitation of Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the papal nuncio in Haiti, and in connection with Catholic Relief Services.
"I think the doctors were surprised at the volume and the type of medicine they were seeing and in the cultural difference in the patient response," Skoglund said. "The Haitians are more stoic and their pain tolerance is much higher than what we see in the U.S."
Because of the limited number of hospitals and trained health professionals, the demand for routine care is great. Complicating the situation is the recent heavy rains and flooding, leading to more cases of malaria.
At St. Francis de Sales, the U.S. Agency for International Development erected several surgical suites. Still, Skoglund said she is concerned about medical teams working outdoors.
Dr. Edgar Gamboa, chief of surgery at El Centro Regional Medical Center in San Diego, who arrived in Port‑au‑Prince Feb. 28 for the second time since the earthquake, said he was pleased to learn the hospital now had semi‑permanent outdoor tent facilities, regular patient meals made possible by CRS, portable showers and toilets.
"The pharmacy is also better stocked and now has a computerized inventory," he said. "The challenge is to be able to get commitments from the different volunteer groups and find out how to collaborate and work together to effect efficient and sustained patient care, because while the acute phase is winding down, the semi‑acute phase and chronic illnesses phase is starting, along with getting back to everyday emergencies"
He said he was alarmed, however, that three patients recently died of tetanus, a preventable infectious disease which enters the body through open wounds. It's a situation that underscores the dire need for tetanus vaccinations in Haiti, he explained.
"Half of the children here are not immunized, and only a third of people had access to medical care before the earthquake," he said.
"The most important thing is sustainability because once Haiti is out of the news there is always fatigue," Gamboa added. "We must concentrate on the fact that the medical care needs to be supported on a long‑term basis."