From benefit concerts to medical missions and immigration assistance for Haitians, the St. Thomas community continues to come together to help earthquake-stricken Haiti.
Thirty-four medical professionals—doctors, nurses, physician’s assistants, technicians—and more than 3 tons of medical equipment, supplies and food have so far reached Haiti from St. Thomas since the first flight, in mid-January, of the V.I. Haitian Medical and Children’s Relief Trip, a group of private citizens organized by local resident Carmen Partridge two days after the quake.
Included in the pipeline are two doctors from New Hampshire and a physician’s assistant from Florida who joined the group of medical professionals from Schneider Regional Medical Center, who call themselves the Crazy Diamonds.
Within 60 hours of the group’s inception, the first flight left for Haiti with 12 medical personnel, a linguist and a logician.
To date, five flights—made possible by private plane owners donating their aircraft to the mission—have carried the medical teams to Haiti.
The group now has an extensively detailed, well-organized website, usvihaitianrelief.org, (see link at story’s end), which includes an application form for off-island doctors wishing to travel with the group.
Everyone who has returned from the trips, which average about four days, has expressed gratitude at the opportunity to help.
However rewarding the mission, it has been a grueling experience, as described by orthopedic doctor Julia Gardner on the website: "When we arrived, the stench of gangrene permeated the entire facility. By the end of our second day the smell was almost gone, although we will continue to have waves of infection and must maintain vigilance. Through the efforts of the St. Thomas team and other teams, we have saved hundreds of lives and limbs."
Gardner continued, "Because of our combined efforts, we expect that many of these patients will be able to heal and contribute to the reestablishment of their community. Without our ongoing presence, the work done to date will be for naught. Without ongoing care, the saved limbs—and possibly lives—will be lost.”
With the group’s continuing missions, Partridge confirmed Tuesday that the needed care will continue to be provided.
Dr. Alfred Heath, who has been flying his own medical mission to the Haitian settlement of Soleil since 1993, said he’s decided to join Partridge’s relief trip for the mission to Port-au-Prince in order to provide post-operative care for the wounded.
"I’ve been drawn into that stream," he said Tuesday. "I’ll let them handle all the contacts there – we don’t want too many cooks."
Heath said he will put his own aircraft at the relief mission’s disposal "so others can use it." He said he anticipates being in Haiti for about four days.
Josalyn Bitterman of Yacht Haven Grande said Saturday’s Haiti benefit concert by local artists netted $37,000, including raffle proceeds, individual donations and a percentage of sales from Mango Tango Seaside Art gallery, and restaurants and bars at the marina.
Bitterman said there was one special donation: "A little lady who said she was from the projects came and gave us $200. We asked if we could give her a ride home, but she insisted she’d take the bus back home."
Another $12,000 in cash donations was pulled in by American Red Cross volunteers and Banco Popular staff from residents who came out in droves to Fort Christian Park for a day-long concert.
In other relief effort news, Hans Oriol, vice president of the Haitian Association of the V.I., which has established a donation center at Four Winds Plaza, held a meeting Saturday to apprise local undocumented Haitians of current immigration changes, allowing them a temporary reprieve.
He said Tuesday that applications can be picked up Monday through Friday at 2 p.m. at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in Nisky Center.
