In a State of Shock: The Public Health
Situation in Haiti
Edited and Adapted with permission by 1Lt Walker N. Moody, USAF
While the majority of the world's attention has been focused on the US and
coalition forces in Iraq, the Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen of Combined
Joint Task Force (CJTF) -- Haiti continue to help the countries 7.5 million
inhabitants as they try to return to a state of normalcy following the state of
anarchy that resulted from the forced exile of former President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide by rebel forces. As coverage by the major news outlets has tapered off
the situation in country is still critical, especially in the vital areas of public health
and services. Lt Col Stewart LeBlanc, USAF, is a European and Latin American
FAO and has been assigned as Deputy ACCE Commander at CJTF-Haiti since
March. In his own words he recalls a visit to a local Port-au-Prince hospital
where he witnessed first hand, the daunting task of helping those who are in
need, and was reminded of why US forces are there.
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"At about 2000 hrs our Civil Affairs (CA) Team was tasked to go to the
hospital and do a quick assessment of how the hospital was coping with an
accident that had happened earlier in the evening. Our medic was given the go
ahead to give them any help or supplies he could. The trip was eerie, like a
scene out of a post-apocalypse science fiction movie. The streets were dark (no
electricity) and lit only by the orange glow of small trash fires. Through the
smoke you caught glimpses of the surrounding buildings and every once in a
while you could see a person as they were caught in the beam of the Humvee's
headlights. As we maneuvered around the fires in the road we tried to keep an
eye out for any potential threats. The mind plays tricks on you in such an
environment and you begin to see phantom gunmen in every shadow.
Fortunately the gunmen remained in our imaginations and we arrived at the
hospital safely. We left two team members outfitted with Night Vision Goggles
(NVGs) and laser sights as security. The grounds of the hospital were as dark as
the city so with NVGs our guys had a tactical advantage over any would-be
attackers.
The rest of us entered the hospital
emergency room, which was running on
generator power, and were immediately
plunged into a world of misery and horror.
The term "emergency room" is a misnomer
because we tend to apply our American
standards to the term. A more fitting
description would be a holding pen for the
sick, injured and dying. Patients were
haphazardly set up all over the hospital; some were in beds, others in chairs and
still others on the floor. There were so many people in the room that it was
difficult to move about. There was blood, and body fluids everywhere, and
privacy was not an option. The smell of urine and excrement hung heavy in the
air, leading me to think that a HAZMAT team would need a month to clean it
properly. The lucky patients had IV bags hooked up to them to ease their pain.
Others went without when the limited supply ran out.
The accident victims were the first people we saw. A young man about 20
years old saw my uniform and reached out to me for help. I spoke to him in
Creole for a few minutes and it broke my heart that I couldn't help him. He had
an improvised splint made from a broom handle on his obviously broken left leg.
He was asking for something for the pain. He had been lying there since he was
brought in over three hours before and had not yet been seen by a doctor. He
had been given morphine by our medics at the scene but it had worn off and he
was in lots of pain. The guy next to him was in even worse
shape. His left leg below the knee was shredded and the kneecap itself was the
size of a football. He will have to have it amputated. He was lethargic and from
the looks of it in an advanced state of shock. We finally got the attention of an
intern and asked for a list of what medical supplies they needed. Since she had
her hands full she quickly scratched out a list of the most basic needs that
included gloves, gauze, bandages, alcohol, IV bags, etc. Since the medical staff
was occupied we decide to take an unescorted tour of the hospital to complete
our assessment.  |
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As we passed several other people asked for help assuming
we were all doctors. We spoke with them a little and had to move on. We made
our way to the men's ward and had to use our flashlights because the ward was
not a priority for the limited generator power. The scene here was appalling.
Fifty beds lined the walls each with a patient. At our feet the floors were filled
with their relatives or friends spending the night providing what care they could to
ease the suffering of their loved ones. There were no doctors or nurses in sight.
There was no airflow and the heat in the enclosed space was oppressive. I tried
to push from my head what the health consequences of such a setup might be.
Our final stop was the Operating Room (OR) but when we tried to enter the OR
area we were stopped by the head surgeon. He explained that we needed
administration approval to enter. We told the doctor that we were doing an
assessment and asked what we could do to help. He gave us a list of surgical
supplies and we told him we would be back in less than five minutes. We went
back to the vehicles and the medics tore into their ready bags. They came up
with a pile of supplies and equipment for the surgeon. We headed out and
returned to base without any problems.
The state of the medical system in Haiti is beyond critical. While there are
private hospitals here that are better equipped and staffed, they are only for the
rich. In fact I've been told by the locals that a good portion of the supplies we
give to public hospitals find their way into the stockpiles of the private ones.
Problems here in Haiti are huge and the systemic corruption makes the task
building a better Haiti that much more difficult."
Lt Col LeBlanc's mission has recently increased its operational scope to
include the Southern Claw region, in an effort to provide an increased level of
support to areas outside of the Port-au-Prince region. While the situation in Haiti
has improved since the violence earlier in the year, the infrastructure still isn't in
place to support a full-scale return to normalcy for the nation. The Air Force FAO
program will continue to train officers so that they may be able to accomplish the
USAF global mission with the professionalism and skill of Lt Col LeBlanc.
2004, Foreign Area Officer Association
Herndon,
Virginia
Maintained by LTC Steve
Gotowicki.
http://www.faoa.org