Daemen Voice Daemen Health Care Students, Staff, Return from 2nd Medical Mission to Haiti Volume I Issue 4 Physical Therapy Students in Haiti Physical Therapy Students in Haiti More than 200,000 people perished January 12, 2010, when a 7.0 magnitude earthquake rattled the small Caribbean nation of Haiti. In May, 2013, doctors with the Hope for Tomorrow Foundation traveled to Haiti for the second time to deliver care to the impoverished residents of the city of Les Cayes. Daemen athletic training, physical therapy, nursing, physician assistant, and pre-med students traveled with the Foundation. Over a four day period the students observed, and with supervision, participated in surgeries including fracture repairs and keloid scar removals. Dr. Jeffrey Meilman, Chairman of the Hope for Tomorrow Foundation and a member of the Daemen College Board of Trustees, has traveled the world providing free medical and surgical care to residents of Third World countries. The devastation that struck the segment of the Haitian population hit by the 2010 earthquake is particularly significant to him. I have been doing this in a lot of countries for the last 20, 22 years. I can tell you this is one of the most needy places,” he stated. To emphasize his point, Meilman noted that prior to the Foundation’s 2011 Mission to Haiti, Les Cayes had not seen a general surgeon for seven years. “The hospital there serves a population of about 1 million. So this means there were no gall bladder surgeries, no tumor removals, orthopedic operations, nothing during that time. There is a great need for health care in Haiti, but practically none of their national budget is dedicated for this.” On the first day of the 2013 trip Daemen students witnessed an emergency Caesarian section; an infant was born with the tube wrapped around its neck, not breathing. Daemen nursing student and operation room nurse Amanda McDonald Kekich responded and began resuscitating the infant, under supervision from Dr. Robert Smolinski from University Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine. After a 25 minute effort the baby suddenly began to breathe on its own. Doctors with the team felt the survival of the baby and the mother would have been questionable, without the attending health care professionals present at the birth. Also during their four days at Immaculate Conception Hospital, a young boy in the hospital appeared to be in a lot of pain. Daemen nursing student Garin Smith discovered the reason: a malfunctioning IV, preventing delivery of pain medication to the boy. Smith and Daemen nursing students, assisting in reinserting an IV, then found the child had a broken leg, two broken wrists, and a dislocated elbow. Despite the seriousness of the injuries, the boy had not been able to get the proper surgeries. University Orthopaedics doctors Robert Smolinski, Mark Anders, and Craig Blum, along with Daemen students, performed the needed surgeries – inserting a metal plate to set the broken leg, setting both wrists and the elbow. About 60 surgeries were performed over the four days the group was in Les Cayes. « Return to Daemen Voice Read the Press Release » Follow Us on Twitter Like Us on Facebook Subscribe to our Channel View us on Flickr Connect with us on LinkedIn Make a Donation Daemen Voice Daemen Health Care Students, Staff, Return from 2nd Medical Mission to Haiti Volume I Issue 4 Physical Therapy Students in Haiti Physical Therapy Students in Haiti More than 200,000 people perished January 12, 2010, when a 7.0 magnitude earthquake rattled the small Caribbean nation of Haiti. In May, 2013, doctors with the Hope for Tomorrow Foundation traveled to Haiti for the second time to deliver care to the impoverished residents of the city of Les Cayes. Daemen athletic training, physical therapy, nursing, physician assistant, and pre-med students traveled with the Foundation. Over a four day period the students observed, and with supervision, participated in surgeries including fracture repairs and keloid scar removals. Dr. Jeffrey Meilman, Chairman of the Hope for Tomorrow Foundation and a member of the Daemen College Board of Trustees, has traveled the world providing free medical and surgical care to residents of Third World countries. The devastation that struck the segment of the Haitian population hit by the 2010 earthquake is particularly significant to him. I have been doing this in a lot of countries for the last 20, 22 years. I can tell you this is one of the most needy places,” he stated. To emphasize his point, Meilman noted that prior to the Foundation’s 2011 Mission to Haiti, Les Cayes had not seen a general surgeon for seven years. “The hospital there serves a population of about 1 million. So this means there were no gall bladder surgeries, no tumor removals, orthopedic operations, nothing during that time. There is a great need for health care in Haiti, but practically none of their national budget is dedicated for this.” On the first day of the 2013 trip Daemen students witnessed an emergency Caesarian section; an infant was born with the tube wrapped around its neck, not breathing. Daemen nursing student and operation room nurse Amanda McDonald Kekich responded and began resuscitating the infant, under supervision from Dr. Robert Smolinski from University Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine. After a 25 minute effort the baby suddenly began to breathe on its own. Doctors with the team felt the survival of the baby and the mother would have been questionable, without the attending health care professionals present at the birth. Also during their four days at Immaculate Conception Hospital, a young boy in the hospital appeared to be in a lot of pain. Daemen nursing student Garin Smith discovered the reason: a malfunctioning IV, preventing delivery of pain medication to the boy. Smith and Daemen nursing students, assisting in reinserting an IV, then found the child had a broken leg, two broken wrists, and a dislocated elbow. Despite the seriousness of the injuries, the boy had not been able to get the proper surgeries. University Orthopaedics doctors Robert Smolinski, Mark Anders, and Craig Blum, along with Daemen students, performed the needed surgeries – inserting a metal plate to set the broken leg, setting both wrists and the elbow. About 60 surgeries were performed over the four days the group was in Les Cayes. « Return to Daemen Voice Read the Press Release » Follow Us on Twitter Like Us on Facebook Subscribe to our Channel View us on Flickr Connect with us on LinkedIn Make a Donation
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 07:20:13 +0000
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