Helping Hands
Monday February 15, 2010
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As the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, Haiti lacked an infrastructure to respond to a disaster of this magnitude. Fortunately, other countries, including the U.S., were willing to send aid during the crisis.
Healthcare teams set up tent hospitals and makeshift operating rooms and treated thousands of patients with serious injuries, including broken bones and crush injuries. Amputations, often with little or no anesthesia, were performed in record numbers.
In your career, you’ve probably witnessed how mentally and physically taxing limb loss can be for patients. Now imagine trying to recover without the help of modern medicine. There’s no one to help you manage your pain, follow-up on your healing or bring you back to optimal physical function.
Because of this, there will be a need in the coming months and years for PTs to volunteer their time and skills to help the Haitian people rehabilitate from these life-altering injuries. To find out more about volunteering in Haiti, visit Healing Hands for Haiti, HealingHandsforHaiti.org, and Health Volunteers Overseas, HVOUSA.org. And watch for the March issue of Today in PT. We’ll be talking to PTs who already have been on the ground and worked with patients before and after the earthquake.
I hope you consider sharing your valuable skills with the Haitian people. •
