Haiti Talking Points - US Department of Health and Human Services
January 21, 2010
• U.S. agencies continue to work as a unified response team in coordination with the Government of Haiti, the United Nations, the international community, and voluntary organizations to provide humanitarian assistance following the earthquake. We are there at the invitation of the Haitian government.
• Challenges: enormity of the event; destroyed infrastructure; blocked and destroyed roads.
• It is important to remember the response effort is not just about international aid; it’s also about Haitians helping Haitians, neighbors helping neighbors.
• Aid is getting to Haitian people--more today than yesterday, more tomorrow than today.
• Given the current need for surgical equipment in Haiti, USAID is prioritizing the shipment of 12 containers of medical and surgical supplies to its warehouse in Miami.
• The U.N. Health Cluster has identified trauma care, obstetrics care, and treatment of communicable diseases as the primary medical priorities of relief efforts.
Specific points about HHS activities:
• HHS has approximately 270 medical personnel on the ground in Haiti. These doctors, nurses, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, and other health professionals are part of the National Disaster Medical System, the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HHS activated the National Disaster Medical System and the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps to assist in Haitian earthquake relief efforts.
• These personnel are part of the international medical response, led by the United Nations, filling specific requests from the Haitian government. As part of that international medical response, we are working as quickly as we can to help save lives and provide immediate medical care in Haiti.
• Current HHS missions include hospital augmentation, care at the embassy, providing an assessment to assist the Haitian government with fatality management, and providing technical assistance in public health.
• The United States is increasing its capacity to deliver assistance: yesterday, the USNS Comfort, a hospital ship, arrived from Baltimore with more than 600 medical personnel on board, bringing tremendous capabilities to the people of Haiti. Almost immediately, patients were flown on board for treatment.
• One of our Disaster Medical Assistance Teams is working in a staging facility at the pier triaging patients to fly by helicopter for treatment aboard Comfort.
• Medical teams from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services began providing patient care on Jan. 17.
- Currently a Disaster Medical Assistance Team and the International Medical Surgical Response Team are providing patient care using temporary medical stations set up in a soccer field near a GHESKIO clinic in Port-au-Prince. Members of another Disaster Medical Assistance Team are providing care at the embassy.
- Additional teams are providing care in and around the U.S. embassy at a Forward Operating Base in Petionville.
- The teams have reported treating approximately 7,260 people so far.
- The most common medical conditions being treated are traumatic injuries and exacerbations of chronic disease. The teams have performed 15 surgeries and delivered four babies so far.
• Our public health experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are providing technical assistance to the Haitian government to help determine public health needs of the impacted area and how to prevent food-borne and water-borne diseases as well as other diseases seen following disasters. The goal is to help alleviate and mitigate public health issues before they become medical issues.
• The Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Refugee Resettlement continues to receive, repatriate, and provide services to American citizens being flown to the United States military bases. After the planes land, the travelers are assessed for immediate needs, including medical attention, food, short-term lodging, transportation and logistics for their onward flight in the U.S.
- More than 7,230 Americans returning from Haiti have been assisted so far.
- ORR is assisting in uniting Haitian orphans with adoptive U.S. parents.
• HHS medical teams came from around the U.S., including Georgia, California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Florida.
• An HHS Incident Response Coordination Team is coordinating the HHS response on the ground to provide medical assistance for the people of Haiti at this critical time.
Background
• The National Disaster Medical System was designed as part of an integrated national response, temporarily augmenting state and local authorities in dealing with the medical impacts of major peacetime disasters. The NDMS can also provide support to the military and the Department of Veterans Affairs medical systems in caring for casualties evacuated back to the U.S. from overseas armed conventional conflicts. The NDMS provides medical response to a disaster area in the form of personnel, supplies, and equipment, patient movement from a disaster site to unaffected areas of the nation and within the U.S., can provide definitive medical care at participating U.S. hospitals in unaffected areas. The NDMS team members have non-federal jobs and become federal employees intermittently to support a disaster.
• The U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps has more than 6,500 full-time, well-trained, highly qualified public health professionals dedicated to delivering the Nation's public health promotion and disease prevention programs and advancing public health science. These men and women serve on the frontlines in the Nation's fight against disease and poor health conditions. As one of America's seven uniformed services, the Commissioned Corps fills essential public health leadership and service roles within U.S. government agencies and programs.
About donating goods and services:
• HHS is determining how civilian health and medical volunteers can best support long-term relief efforts in Haiti. We received an outpouring of offers from the medical community to assist in Haiti. To help us in these planning efforts, we’re asking anyone interested to register at http://www.cidi.org/incident/haiti-10a/..
• The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Department of State are responsible for coordinating the provision of resources to Haiti. Resources are provided only at the request of the Haitian government based on its assessment of the country’s needs. Once a request is made, federal agencies must determine the most appropriate source for the requested item.
• The situation is changing rapidly. As we learn more about specific needs in Haiti and we determine ways to deliver resources we will be able to target donations more directly to where they are most needed. We will contact interested people as the situation warrants and may offer additional guidance at that time.
• All offers of assistance are greatly appreciated. We hope everyone will keep in mind that the ability to accept an offer often depends on such considerations as current needs and logistics. Just by making your resources available through this process you are making a significant contribution to the relief efforts.
LCDR Ron Pinheiro, MHS, RPA-C
Supervisory Regional Emergency Coordinator
US Dept of Health and Human Services
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response
Region VIII
1961 Stout St, Room 1457
Denver, CO 80294
303-844-7273 office
303-844-7274 fax
303-563-9400 cell
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