Carlene "Central Sterile" Williams

Team Sinai is getting ready to depart for our long planned mission, and final preparations are at a fever pitch. Pictured here is Carlene Williams, Central Sterile Technician at Sinai Hospital. She will be responsible for organizing, cleaning, and sterilizing all of our surgical equipment. Pictured here with Amy Montillano, O.R. nurse, Carlene has contributed significantly to our preparations and organization. Carlene was in the U.S. Army for more than 10 years, so she is no stranger to working under difficult field conditions.

Dumpster Diving

We'll be in Haiti next week, so we're down to the wire on our preparations.  Aaron and his crew are busy readying the anesthesia and pediatric gear, John is preparing surgical sets, and the rest of us are getting our gear together for wound care, nursing care, nutrition, and any number of miscellaneous items. Just when we thought we had all bases covered, we heard that the hospital is "very very low on IV fluids...." so now wer're scrambling to locate IV bags of Lactated Ringers Solution. Luckily, our hospital has a corner of the Recieving Dock set aside for discards from the hospital. We are allowed to "dumpster dive" for all kinds of goodies that would otherwise be periodically picked up by a distribution group called Project Hope. (Sorry Hopers.....we diverted some of the discards that were coming your way...)

 It's been weekend of packing. We were about 90% done when American Airlines threw us a curveball: there is an embargo on any extra bags to Haiti. We were hoping to have several of the team members take three checked bags so that we could bring in more gear. AA says ixnay on that. Now we're scrambling to jettison that which is not "mission critical" and make our selves leaner and meaner. AA also decided that they will only accept duffle bags (no crates). Great news for Aaron who just finished packing his delicate anesthesia monitors and other breakables into 6 shipping crates and now has to move everything into duffles. It could have been worse, we could have found this out at the airport during "check in"....

Packing is an event, and in this picture, you can see Amy Montillano (the O.R. nurse on Team Sinai) and Ella Joy Napoles. Ella is a Sinai O.R. nurse who has been on missions past with us, but unfortunately can't make it to Haiti. However, she is planning to go with us to Ecuador in October. Ella is a great sport, and spent Sunday afternoon at Chez Herzenberg helping us with the packing.

Who shot JR?

John Russell ("JR") has been a PACU nurse at Sinai for ten years. His hobbies include fixing broken things, gardening, cars, and cooking. (John: should be plenty of broken things to fix, not much gardening, no fancy cars, and not much cooking at HAH...bring your own food!)  John tells us that "I am looking forward to Haiti for the opportunity to work with a group of people who are there only to do what is right, not for money, fame or prestige."

John is an avid camper and hiker, and has already staked out his corner of the hospital roof to pitch his four-man tent, to be left behind as a gift for a homeless Haitian family.

The Three Musketeers (Les Zuckerbergs)

"You are not required to complete the task;

nevertheless, you are not exempt from beginning the work".

            "If I am only for myself, who am I?"

"The more charity you do, the more peace you will create"

                                                --Ethics of the Fathers

Gabe, Jeremy and Aaron Zuckerberg are honored to join Team Sinai's mission to Haiti.

Gabe, a Beth Tfiloh High School junior and Jeremy a University of Maryland sophmore have spent long hours working with children both in and out of the hospital setting, and are anxious to bring smiles and friendship to the patients in Port au Prince.

Papa Aaron is double boarded in Peds and Anesthesia. His day job is Pediatric Intensivist, but he dreams of being a professional cyclist. This photo of Aaron in Sponge Bob Land (his unit is a shrine to the Bikini Bottom group..) is taken from the article in 2009 Baltimore Magazine's "Best of...". Aaron was voted the Best Pediatric Anesthesiologist in Baltimore.

Plumpy'nut and Medika Mamba

In the simple yet eloquent words of Haitibones blogger traumaqueen, “Haiti is hungry. Very hungry”.  http://traumaqueen1.blogspot.com/2010/05/everyone-here-has-chest-pain.html

Most people in Haiti eat only one meal per day. Even the patients hospitalized in Hopital Adventiste d’Haiti (HAH) are given only one meal per day. Even if that meal is 500 calories, it is still inadequate nutrition to heal wounds, clear infections, and knit bones. Many returning volunteer docs and nurses we have contacted after their return from HAH confirm that malnutrition is a huge problem.

 A little research on the Internet, and we found “Plumpy Nut”, a Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF). That's NGO-speak for a food product especially designed and manufactured to treat hungry children in Africa suffering from moderate to severe malnutrition. Where to find Plumpy Nut? There's a great story by Anderson Cooper that explains the origins of Plumpy Nut and how its use in Niger and other African nations has made a huge dent in the need to hospitalize children with malnutrition.          http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/19/60minutes/main3386661.shtml

Plumpy Nut is manufactured in Niger, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, and the DR of Congo. How are we supposed to get PN to bring with us to Haiti? A little more research and deeper drilling on the internet reveals that a new factory (Edesia.... http://www.edesiallc.org/index.html) recently opened in Providence, Rhode Island (and Plymouth Plantations) for manufacturing Plumpy Nut. Our daughter Danielle happens to be a grad student in Providence at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), and just finished her first year in the Interior Architecture Department. What an opportunity to kill three birds with one stone, so I flew up to Providence this week, had a back stage tour of Edesia (see photos of our Edesia tour), purchased 500 lbs of Plumpy Nut, threw the 15 cartons (34 lbs each) in the back of Danielle's Ford Escape, and drove back to Baltimore with Danielle, Matisse the cat, and 15 cartons of Plumpy Nut (each containing 150 sachets, 500 calories per sachet, 75,000 calories per carton). Now all we have to do is figure out how to distribute the 15 cartons into the checked bags of Team Sinai along with all the other gear and supplies we're bringing! More about Plumpy Nut and the Haitian factory in Cap Haitien producing Medika Mamba later...

The Huddle before the Storm

Team Sinai will be departing soon for our mission week in Haiti. In preparation, we put together some words of advice and hopefully wisdom and maybe even inspiration for all team members to consider....

Bonjou Team Sinai,

As we approach this mission, our collective thoughts and consciousness subtly but inexorably will shift away from our natural day to day activities stateside, and towards the mission ahead of us. Today we want to talk about the issue of cultural sensitivity. This is going to be a daily challenge during our entire stay in Haiti. Here's some thoughts to consider:

1. We are guests in a Haitian hospital, and so we must always behave as the gracious guest. There may be times when you are feeling exasperated by some of our host doctors/nurses/staff/patients. Take a moment to compose yourself, and act graciously. Always defer to the sensitivities of our hosts. Scott Nelson, our orthopedic host, has pointed that it is more important to build relationships than to simply provide medical expertise.

2. While we are "Team Sinai", we are not competing with any other team, other than ourselves.

3. Make a serious effort to use Kreyole or French phrases whenever possible. Say "Bonjou" (good morning), or "Bonswa" (good afternoon) to every Haitian staff or patient you come across. By using their language, you are sending them a message that you value and respect their culture, their language, and them. It is also a great ice breaker when you mangle a phrase. While we are in Haiti, make an effort to learn MORE phrases. Arm yourself with a phrase card you can study from. Here's one:   http://steelsculpture.us/haiti_cheatsheet.htm  Your homework (BEFORE WE ARRIVE) is to learn how to say in Kreyole "How are you?".....there will be a quiz when we meet in the airport....Hint: there are two correct answers to this question...Extra credit for anyone who gets both...

4. Make an effort to work with the local Haitians, not around them. Ask them what they think is the best way to treat something or deal with a problem. The entire nation of Haiti is in the lowest, most desperate point in their history. The last thing they need is to feel their pride or integrity or intelligence challenged. We are going to be in Haiti for a mere seven days. They live there forever.

5. Be kind and sensitive to the patients. Explain (with the help of a translator) what you are doing, if it will hurt, and why you are doing it. You may want to take a photograph of a patient. Ask permission first. Back home you would never think of whipping out your camera and photographing a patient without first asking permission. The same standards must be observed in Haiti. If you photograph someone without their permission, particularly if they are in a compromised situation, in pain, or incompletely dressed, then you are relating to them as if they were less than human. Kindness and consideration should always be at the forefront of your actions.

6. If you witness another team member acting inappropriately, take them aside and gently point out to them that their actions may be interpreted as insulting or dismissive. 

7. Don't do anything in the hospital that you would not be allowed to do back home. This is particularly important for the young people in our group. The Haitian nurses and doctors and patients will be constantly observing our every action. The Haitians are sensitive to the concept of having to suffer with a lower quality of medical care than most of the rest of the world. Nonetheless, as a matter of pride, they will reject any medication that is beyond its expiration date. Please do NOT bring any expired items! Many of you may be willing to take a Tylenol in your own homes that is slightly beyond expiration date, but this is not acceptable during our mission.

8. Dress modestly. In the USA, it is common for men and women wear shorts. Many young women in the USA bare their midriffs. In Haiti, this is not acceptable. Remember, we are guests. Be friendly and engaging. Make an effort to talk and interact with the Haitians. Do not spend all your time with the other Team Sinai members. Make local friends.

9. We are working in an Adventist Hospital, affiliated with the Seventh Day Adventist faith. The Adventists pray frequently, openly, and often use biblical references. Team Sinai is comprised of a multicultural and multiethnic mix. We must always be respectful of our SDA hosts. When our hosts pause to pray, your appropriate response is to also pause, lower your head, and be respectful.

10. We are going as volunteers, and must be willing to do whatever the local authorities deem important for us to do. Be gracious, be flexible, and always cheerful. We are not heroes. We simply have the privilege to serve.

Orvwa,

Merrill and John

John Logue, Prosthetics and Orthotics Guru (P.O.G.)

The earthquake of January 12, 2010 left over 200,000 dead. Of the survivors, many thousands are now newly created amputees. Haiti has limited resources to serve this disabled population. As a specialist in artificial limbs, John Logue has the potential to help rebuild many shattered lives. In his own words.....


"I am a prosthetist/orthotist from Alabama, New Orleans, New York, New Haven, and now Baltimore. This is my first real mission, though each of those other stops seemed like a 'mission' in its own right; though maybe not as altruistic as serving in Haiti. The thing I'd like to think I took from those places, is knowing that I need to be useful for a worthwhile purpose. Albert Schwietzer got the idea right in the quote on the Haitibones.org site... 


'I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.'

The happiness he speaks of there certainly seems to show in the faces of the mission experienced Team Sinai folks. I am very grateful for the chance to be a part of this effort."