White Sox Spring Training Blog
Dr. Jeff Mjaanes' Blog - 400 Patients Seen at Make-Shift Urgent Care Center
Jan 30, 2010 - Today the group split up: Some went to the General Hospital and some went to the private CTDI Hospital. My group went to a make-shift, urgent care center for people living on the streets.
At the General Hospital our cardiology and medicine residents went and worked in the ICU treating patients with wounds, heart failure and kidney failure. One was a 15-year-old boy in heart failure, who ended up being flown to the USS Comfort medical ship. Our vascular surgeons, Drs. McCarthy and Lind performed surgery all day - mainly debridement of infected wounds.
Our anesthesia and ortho teams went to a former private hospital now treating earthquake victims. Drs. Fernandez and Van Thiel rounded on wounded patients and performed seven surgeries, including debridement of the leg wound of the four-year-old we saw yesterday. The boy did well and was discharged.
Our team went to a make-shift, urgent care center and worked alongside physicians and nurses from around the world. A group from the Dominican Republic set up at the Main Police Station directly in front of the destroyed National Palace.
Our group alone saw over 400 children today. We had some very sick children with respiratory infections, dehydration and malnutrition. We had to stabilize a basically unresponsive little 11-month-old girl whose mother and two of three siblings died, and who has likely developed sepsis (blood poisoning) from infected wounds. Luckily, Dr. Ansell was at the General Hospital - we transported the girl, he received her and took her to the pediatric tent.
Many sad stories today. A pregnant mother who lost her husband and two of her children in the quake. Her two-year-old was stuck under the rubble for four days - she ended up having to pay someone 1,000 Haitian dollars to dig him out. She has nothing - not even a sheet to sleep on in the tent city.
A 10-year-old boy who lost both parents and his siblings when their house collapsed. Only he and his eight-year-old brother survived, now living on the street. To add misery to the situation, he got separated from his brother yesterday. Now both are completely alone. It is so heartwrenching to see this and be able to do so little. Although, I hope I am making at least a small contribution. The scope of all this is so immense it is overwhelming.
That is all for now - we are all exhausted and need to try and get some rest.
Jeff
At the General Hospital our cardiology and medicine residents went and worked in the ICU treating patients with wounds, heart failure and kidney failure. One was a 15-year-old boy in heart failure, who ended up being flown to the USS Comfort medical ship. Our vascular surgeons, Drs. McCarthy and Lind performed surgery all day - mainly debridement of infected wounds.
Our anesthesia and ortho teams went to a former private hospital now treating earthquake victims. Drs. Fernandez and Van Thiel rounded on wounded patients and performed seven surgeries, including debridement of the leg wound of the four-year-old we saw yesterday. The boy did well and was discharged.
Our team went to a make-shift, urgent care center and worked alongside physicians and nurses from around the world. A group from the Dominican Republic set up at the Main Police Station directly in front of the destroyed National Palace.
Our group alone saw over 400 children today. We had some very sick children with respiratory infections, dehydration and malnutrition. We had to stabilize a basically unresponsive little 11-month-old girl whose mother and two of three siblings died, and who has likely developed sepsis (blood poisoning) from infected wounds. Luckily, Dr. Ansell was at the General Hospital - we transported the girl, he received her and took her to the pediatric tent.
Many sad stories today. A pregnant mother who lost her husband and two of her children in the quake. Her two-year-old was stuck under the rubble for four days - she ended up having to pay someone 1,000 Haitian dollars to dig him out. She has nothing - not even a sheet to sleep on in the tent city.
A 10-year-old boy who lost both parents and his siblings when their house collapsed. Only he and his eight-year-old brother survived, now living on the street. To add misery to the situation, he got separated from his brother yesterday. Now both are completely alone. It is so heartwrenching to see this and be able to do so little. Although, I hope I am making at least a small contribution. The scope of all this is so immense it is overwhelming.
That is all for now - we are all exhausted and need to try and get some rest.
Jeff
