In light of the catastrophe in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, I figure I should probably write a little bit about my experience there. Fortunately, the hospitals we were working with are farther inland and all their locations are still standing. This puts them in the position of providing care to many of the wounded. Having worked with the people at Partners in Health (PIH), I would highly recommend sending any support through them if you want to help with the disaster relief. PIH isn't just an outside aid organization, their whole strategy is to train and employ Haitian nationals, from the cleaning staff and community health workers all the way up to the doctors and nurses - and everyone in between.
While in Haiti, we worked with Youdy, their head biomedical technician. I was so impressed with his knowledge and desire for learning. Youdy has completed multiple courses in specific types of equipment, both in the US and via distance-learning. He is training at least 8 young men to work at the different site hospitals and as assistants for him. While we were in Haiti, Billy and I worked with Youdy to repair 3 tabletop sterilizers and help set up an x-ray machine. Once we arrived at home, we were also able to send back the parts for a 4th sterilizer which is likely in service now.
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