Building Haiti's Health Care System
By Jami Brinton, Reporter
A near riot breaks out at the front gates of the hospital on Monday, January 25, 2010, when a large group of chanting people demanded that food be distributed Monday at a makeshift hospital manned by volunteer American doctors in Leogane, Haiti. The towns people said that the system of deliver was corrupted and the food was being sold. Dr. Chris Buresh, from Iowa City, Iowa calmed the crowd. (J.B. Forbes/St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
By
Jami Brinton
Story Created:
Feb 5, 2010 at 5:19 PM CST
Story Updated:
Feb 5, 2010 at 5:19 PM CST
IOWA CITY - Long before the earthquake hit, hundreds of Haitians were in poor health.
Those medical challenges grew exponentially worse after the quake as survivors desperately search for someone to help treat their injuries.
A group of emergency medicine physicians from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics say they're determined to help rebuild a better Haiti - one equipped with a proper health care system.
"If we didn't make things better than they were then we've missed a tremendous opportunity,” said Dr. Christopher Buresh, an emergency medicine physician at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
Today, work began in the city of Leogane to build a new hospital using materials in these blue crates.
Dr. Buresh explained that the new fifty bed hospital will be available “to take care of folks who are really sick.”
It's the first step in providing Haitians throughout that region with access to quality health care.
"It's really going to make a difference,” said Dr. Dan Wing, a second-year resident in emergency medicine at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. “It's a temporary structure but it's going to be temporary for 5-6 years.”
Workers are also training Haitian medical teams care for their own.
"Our groups are working a lot with nursing students teaching them how to dress amputations, care for these wounds, do stitches, how to put on casts, and things like that,” said Dr. Buresh.
These are some basic medical techniques that could save lives.
"As a team we can make a difference and it's going to be a team effort long-term,” said Dr. Wing.
Dr. Buresh and his medical team will travel to Haiti again next week to continue working to build the new hospital.
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