Ram the Man

Dr. Ram Shetty is our out-of-state "ringer" from West Virginia. It's a convoluted story how Ram from West Virginia joined Team Sinai. Here it is, in 25 words or less.....Ram's sister-in-law Seska volunteered with me in Sri Lanka after the Tsunami of 2005. When Seska heard I was going to Haiti, she told me about her sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Julia and Ram, both of whom are Family Medicine specialists. Both volunteered to join our team, but they had to flip a coin to decide which one would go to Haiti, and which would stay home with the kids. Ram won the toss (Sorry, Julia!). A Family Medicine specialist, Ram will likely be commandeered by the ER at HAH to help treat the ~100 patients that come to the Triage/ER on a daily basis.

Dr. Ram Shetty was born in Calcutta, India but came to live in Atlanta, GA when he was only three years old. He graduated from Georgia Tech with a BA in electrical engineering and then got his MD from the Medical College of Georgia. He went on to a residency in Family Medicine at West Virginia University and has been in practice with Julia his wife, in rural West Virginia since 2003.

 

Amy Montillano, RN

Operating room nurses are a special breed. They have to be mind readers, scavengers, diplomats, and angels of mercy. They deal with contentious surgeons, demanding anesthesiologists, and patients in distress, often at the same time. Amy Montillano does all this and more, and always with a smile and the highest degree of professionalism. She is equally adept at scrubbing and circulating. Amy came to Sinai Hospital 8 years ago from her native Philippines, where she participated in many outreach clinics and surgery camps to under served areas on her island (Cebu). She accompanied us on an Operation Rainbow mission to Quito, Ecuador two years ago, where this photo was made. (Amy is on the right). She is tireless, and as the only OR nurse on Team Sinai, will undoubtedly be very busy...

Louise Reid Boyce Nichols, RN, MD

 

We're leaving in a few weeks, and all of our team members are kicking it into high gear, gathering supplies, packing and preparing for our mission. Tonight, we introduce Dr. Louise Reid Boyce Nichols, AKA "Reid". Reid has four names and two titles. She began life as a nurse at Johns Hopkins, and switched teams to the doctor side, and is now a fully trained orthopedic surgeon. This year, she is completing a fellowship in advanced limb lengthening and reconstruction techniques at Sinai. As part of the fellowship program, all fellows are encouraged to accompany one of the attending surgeons on an international mission. This year, the three fellows (Dan Prince, Marie Gdalevitch, and Reid Boyce) have been on missions with either my husband John or his partner Shawn Standard to Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, and now Haiti. Lucky Marie gets to go twice...DR and Haiti. 

Reid was originally scheduled to go on a two week surgical mission to Eritrea, until political unrest put the kabosh on that trip. The good news is that she is able to join us in Haiti instead.  In her own words....."I have wanted to travel to Haiti to help since the earthquake. I watched as a friend started an Orphan Relief Fund while I worked at home. I am a doer, not a watcher.  I feel very blessed to join a team of exceptional people who I hope will do exceptional things."

Our favorite Canadienne, Marie G.

Dr. Marie Gdalevitch is a Canadian orthopedic surgeon in Baltimore for fellowship training in Limb Reconstruction surgery at Sinai Hospital. A few months ago, she accompanied John's partner Dr. Shawn Standard on an orthopedic mission to the other half of Hispaniola - the Dominican Republic. That trip had been planned well before the January 12 earthquake, and so unexpectedly, Marie and Shawn found themselves in the midst of a disaster relief mission. In addition to being a highly skilled surgeon, Marie is also a pretty decent hockey player, and a die-hard Montreal Canadienes fan. She is finishing her fellowship in Baltimore next month, and headed to Australia for yet more training in her chosen sub-specialty of pediatric orthopedics. In her own words....

"I am Canadian, born and raised in bilingual Montreal where there is a large and vibrant Haitian community. After hearing news of the earthquake, I felt helpless at the tragedy that was unfolding on televisions worldwide. Only to realize that I was heading to Dominican Republic on a pre-earthquake organized medical mission trip. Two weeks after the earthquake, I found myself in San Juan, DR working at one of the bordering hospitals, treating Haitian refugees. My experience was short and the help our small team provided was a drop of water in an ocean of need. I felt I had left prematurely and with much unfinished work. I often wonder what happened to my patients? Did they survive? Did they walk? Did they return to Haiti and if so what were their living conditions? The prospect of being able to return, with a bigger team, and the hope of doing more, is extremely invigorating. I approach this upcoming trip with much anticipation, but also with heightened awareness. No matter how much we contribute, I will likely remain humbled and wondering upon my return."

The rest of our PICU team...

Yesterday, we introduced Theresa Fagan, pediatric nurse practitioner. Today we are introducing the other half of the dynamic duo, Janie Ginsburg (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Nurse).

"Most of my nursing career has been in the Pediatric ICU.  I spent one year working with children in an army hospital in Germany.  Since the beginning of my career I have wanted to go on a humanitarian trip to an area where the need was great. This was the perfect place for me to start (many years late).  When not taking care of my kids at work, my husband and I take care of our 3 kids and our exchange student at home." 

- Janie Ginsburg

Theresa Fagan, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner

I have been at Sinai as a Pediatric Critical Care Nurse Practitioner for 3.5 years.  Prior to that I was PNP in primary care for 2 years, and a PICU nurse for 5.5 years.  I have been on 3 medical missions to Ecuador with Ecuadent Foundation where I have worked in hospitals in Pasaje and Esmeraldas providing pre-op and post-op care to pediatric patients receiving surgeries such as cleft lip and palate repairs, scar revisions, and hernia repairs.  Ever since hearing about the earthquake and devastation in Haiti, I have wanted to go and offer whatever help and care I could provide, so I am thrilled to be able to travel with Team Sinai.  This photo was taken in Ecuador. (I'm the one on the right)

"Physical Terrorist, I mean Therapist..."

One truism in orthopedic surgery is that it doesn't matter how good a surgeon you are, if you don't have an excellent physical therapist backing you up. For the past six years, Moshe Roth has been making sure that the good work of the fine docs at the Rubin Institute for Advanced Orthopedics, International Center for Limb Lengthening, has been followed up with diligent, high quality physical therapy to insure the best possible outcomes for the patients. Moshe is a pediatric physical therapist. PT's sometimes get a bad rap from patients, who often refer to PT's as "Physical Terrorists" and "Pain and Torture" specialists. In fact, it is difficult work, made even more challenging when dealing with children who can't always understand the concept of "no pain, no gain.." Moshe manages to pull it off with aplomb, and the kids adore him, despite all he puts them through. Moshe has a huge fan club amongst the kids he treats. In Moshe’s own words, “The opportunity to join the Sinai mission to Haiti really serves a life goal for me. When I chose to enter the Physical Therapy profession, part of my decision was motivated by the opportunity to work with the under served and to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate. Haiti is the first of what I hope will be other future medical missions.”

The Littlest Nurse

My nephew David Herzenberg is the youngest and least experienced nurse on our team, sort of. While David just graduated from the Samuel Merritt College Nursing Program last month, he is no stranger to international disaster relief. David has accompanied me twice on international relief missions: Sri Lanka in 2004 after the Tsunami, and Jammu Kashmir, Pakistan, in 2005 after the massive earthquake. After his experiences in the field, he was inspired to choose nursing as a profession, with the intent to work overseas. I am proud that in some small way, I have influenced David to join our noble profession (though his Dad was hoping for a legal eagle instead of a nurse). Here are two pictures of David, on the left with his cousin, my daughter, Brittany a few years back, and on the right, in Islamabad stopping for a burger at the only McDonalds in Pakistan (David is the one in the middle). Apparently Ronald McDonald is a controversial figure in Pakistan, hence the armed guard. David is currently waiting for a slot to take his NCLEX (Nursing Licensure Exams), and depending on getting a slot (and passing the test) before our trip or after, will determine if he goes as an RN (registered nurse) or a GN (graduate nurse).

David will, predictably be offended by my posting him as the "Littlest Nurse" on our team of six nurses, as he is in reality a pretty big guy (that's one reason I took him to Pakistan and Sri Lanka....as muscle for protection). David is a personal trainer with the chiseled abs and massive guns of his namesake, David (by Michaelangelo). David's Dad was a Peace Corps volunteer in Malaysia, where he met David's mom, a Chinese Malay, and hence the handsome and exotic multicultural David, my nephew, and the Littlest Nurse on Team Sinai.

The Trials of Job

Today we had an organizational team meeting for our upcoming trip to HAH. In the next series of posts we will introduce our team members. In his own words below is our Podiatrist, Dr. Timeny....

My name is Job Timeny. I was born and raised in Cap-Haitien, Haiti. I am a resident in Foot and Ankle Surgery at South Jersey Regional Medical Center, Vineland New Jersey. I am so glad to be part of Team Sinai. Ever since the earthquake, the desire to go to Haiti and serve my fellow Haitians was heavy on my heart. I was ecstatic when Dr. Herzenberg invited me to come along while I was in a 2-months rotation at Sinai hospital.

Being able to help will be a way to connect with myself and give back to my country. To be honest, it could have easily been me in the current disastrous situation as many of my friends and classmates who moved to Port-Au-Prince to continue their education or simply for a better life. I was fortunate to instead move to the US to continue my education and now I am happy to return to my native land to serve those in need.

Gratitude, thank yous, and praises are not my motives. I’m fulfilling my duty as a Haitian-American and a physician.

“ Haiti renaîtra de ses cendres.”

Job Timeny

Getting Ready for Haiti

Hi!

My name is Merrill Chaus, and I would like to welcome you to our blog. We're blogging so that friends and family can follow our progress. Moreover, I've found that the blogs of previous HAH volunteers have been very informative and allow us to prepare better for our upcoming mission.

www.teamsinaihaiti.blogspot.com

In just a few weeks, our 18 member team will be leaving Baltimore for Port au Prince, Haiti. We represent Sinai Hospital of Baltimore. Our mission is to provide support to the Hopital Adventiste d'Haiti (Haiti Adventist Hospital - "HAH") in Carrefour, Port au Prince. This is a 70 bed hospital, though we've been told that the hospital census has swollen to ~300 following the earthquake of January 12, 2010. The focus of our team is to provide reconstructive orthopedic surgery to the earthquake victims, and general support to HAH. Our team members include three orthopedic surgeons, one podiatrist, one anesthesiologist, one family practicioner, five nurses, one physical therapist, one surgical instrument technician, and three volunteers.

This is my second mission to Haiti, the first having been in January 2010, shortly after the earthquake. During that mission, I worked with a group called IMANA (Islamic Medical Association of North America) in an impromtu field hospital set up in an abandoned amusement park.

This time, I am organizing a group together with my husband John Herzenberg, an orthopaedic surgeon at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore. We have assembled a great team of volunteers who are highly motivated and eager to help at Adventist Hospital. HAH survived the earthquake relatively intact, and has been functioning under the leadership of an incredibly dedicated young orthopedic surgeon from Loma Linda, California, Dr. Scott Nelson (more about Scott in a later post) since January. Tomorrow we are having an organizational meeting at our home. More to follow...