Help Rebuild the Hospital St. Francis de Sales
GHM is raising funds to help rebuild the Hospital St. Francis de Sales in Port-au-Prince. The hospital will need significant funding to rebuild and continue to serve the poor of Port-au-Prince as they have since 1881. Please go to www.globalhealthministry.org to donate.

View before-and-after images of Hospital St. Francis de Sales.

Haiti Updates

March 19, 4 p.m.
Another team of medical professionals recently returned from treating victims of the Haiti earthquake. Sr. Mary Jo McGinley, R.S.M., executive director, Global Health Ministry, was also there. The team included: Jill Simon, a nurse practitioner and Murielle Jeanty Laguerre, R.N., St. Mary Medical Center, Langhorne Pa.; Carrie Paston, M.D., Lourdes Health System, Camden, N.J.; Emmanuel Ephene, Mercy Philadelphia Hospital (MHS SEPA); Frantz Francois, Saint Michael Medical Center, Newark, N.J.; Smana Pamphile Clerfe, M.Div., Mercy Behavioral Health, Pittsburgh Mercy Health System; and Janette Dziadon, M.B.A., GHM friend and financial advisor.

The medical team cared for more than 700 patients between March 6 and 11 in tent clinics at various sites:
  • One day at Notre Dame de Lourdes Clinic at Delmas 19
  • One full day at Hospital St. Francois de Sales
  • One half day at a church in Port-au-Prince
  • Three half days at Hospice St. Joseph
  • Four half days at a clinic for residents of a tent city
Here are some photos brought back from this latest mission:
The Presidential Palace was not spared the earthquake’s impact. Home to the Haitian president and his family, the attic and second floor of the building collapsed almost completely, and the central pavilion was entirely demolished. The Hospice St. Joseph, which included a hostel for visiting teams, collapsed during the earthquake.

Haitians have been living in makeshift tent cities since the January 12 earthquake. Haitians receive supplies from the American relief workers.

Carrie Paston, M.D., a Lourdes physician, makes one of her young patients smile. Dr. Paston checks the dressing on the amputated leg of a Haitian woman..

Dr. Paston reaches out to a young patient and her mother during a checkup. Haitian children laughing and playing among the ruins of what was once their home.

Almost all that is left of the Eglise Sacre Coeur, a local Catholic church, is this crucifix. A young Haitian baby looks on.

March 11, 4 p.m.

Sr. Mary Jo brought these photos back with her from her visit to Haiti:

Sr. Mary Jo and Hector Tarraza, M.D. (GHM Medical Director), meet with the administration of Hospital St. Francis de Sales to assure them of continued support from their friends at CHE, GHM, CCIHC (Catholic Consortium of International Health Care) and many others who are stepping up to provide financial and technical support. In addition to meeting with HSFS, the GHM team assisted at a number of outside clinics providing care for earthquake victims. Hector Tarraza M.D., is shown here helping volunteers at the clinic set up on the grounds of Hospice St. Joseph.

Over one million people lost their homes and are living in makeshift “tent cities” which are no more than sheets tied to sticks in the ground. Patients in the temporary hospital were set up in about 10 tent units in front of the collapsed buildings at Hospital St. Francis de Sales.

February 3, 9 a.m.
From Sr. Mary Jo McGinley:

We came to Haiti for a short administrative visit to meet with a number of our in-country partners and listen to their current and future needs relative to our service with them. Our goal has always been to work in solidarity with the communities we serve. It is important that our in-country partners help us refocus our work in Haiti to meet their needs.

Time was spent on this goal, but most of the day was seeing and hearing about the reality of “Tuesday” – in the U.S. we talk about 9/11 – in Haiti, it will always be ‘Tuesday’ for many people.

Pervasive destruction and personal stories of tragic losses are almost overwhelming. There is no way to adequately describe the losses suffered here. One survivor told us the terror of the loud roar that accompanied the ground shaking. “… the earth groaned loud from deep inside … that was worse than the shaking.”
February 2, 1 p.m.
Sr. Mary Jo McGinley Arrives in Haiti

Sr. Mary Jo McGinley, executive director, Global Health Ministry, left for Haiti on Monday. She is joined by Hector Tarraza, M.D., GHM medical director and Nadia Morquette, R.N., Hospital St. Francis de Sales liaison. Nadia, who speaks fluent Creole, was a GHM team member on mission trips to Haiti 2008 and 2009. The group arrived in Port-au-Prince at 11 a.m. today.
February 1, 10 a.m.
From Dr. Stephen Lowe:

While I was there for four days it was very chaotic – poor information highway, terrible logistics and no central coordination as to who needed us; we often found ourselves initially unable to do anything constructive. This was no fault of CMMB, as they had incomplete information due to all of these factors.

My going to Haiti, however, was not a wasted effort. Our CMMB group was simply too small to have any clout in a country without central organization. Only the military appeared to have an organized logistics network in place, since that is what they do. The Canadian military helped us immensely but were still limited on our behalf, since we were not Canadian nationals.

The devastation in Haiti was beyond comprehension both physically and emotionally. These unfortunate people had very little before the quake, and they quickly lost everything they did have in an instant. Rebuilding both the mortar and their constitution will take decades and the work has hardly begun.

I very much want to return in the future once there are logistics in place for an operating room to perform reconstructive surgery. The infection rate would likely approach 100% if we tried to perform major reconstructive orthopedic surgery right now under a tent in the middle of a field.

Dianne [CMMB medical director in Haiti] has her work cut out for her but her heart is in the right place and she can be quite forceful when necessary. God Bless!

Stephen Lowe, M.D.
Wednesday, January 27, 9 a.m.
12:41 am: Phone Call from Paulette Schank to Sister Mary Jo:
“ … Sister, we cannot get through to anyone else ... we have a baby in critical condition that needs to be airlifted out of here ...”
1 to 6 am: Failed calls and finally connections and lots of action – Canadians provide oxygen to keep baby alive until chopper comes.

6:30 am: Our team on the chopper with the baby (Kathy from CMMB in contact with CMMB director in Jacmel)

9:05 am: Paulette and Mary call Sr. Mary Jo:
“ … Thanks for all the prayers – everyone worked together; the Canadians helped us get to where there’s a landing area. We went with the baby in the helicopter to the USNS Comfort. We just returned and everyone here is in tears. The baby was doing well in the Comfort ICU when we left. It was just awesome! We have to get changed now and get to our O.R. now …”
Tuesday, January 26, 11 a.m.
Volunteers

The Global Health Ministry volunteers serving at the Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB) clinic reported the following on Monday, Jan 25:
  • International teams are working well together in Jacmel to meet the needs of Earthquake victims, but resources are very limited. Our volunteers are working closely with the U.S. Navy, and the Canadians, Cubans and Swiss, as well as the Haitian CMMB staff.


  • Most care is being given in “MASH” type tents because of the condition of existing structures. These facilities have minimal equipment and services are provided in quasi-battlefield conditions. Because of the lack of facilities and equipment, there are more surgeons than stations where they can function. Steven Lowe, M.D. (St. Mary Medical Center, Langhorne, Pa.) will be returning home first and hopes to return to Haiti if and when facilities are present that will support higher-end orthopedic surgery. Lisa Medvetz, M.D., Paulette Shank, C.R.N.A., and Mary Gorman, M.D., report they are busy and doing things they never dreamed they would be doing.


  • Personal accommodations are safe, but limited. Nights are spent in a sleeping bag on the floor near a door because of concern of damage from additional tremors is the norm. International teams are sharing snacks and other items.
No Additional Volunteers Needed Now for Global Health Teams to Haiti
  • We currently have five times as many volunteers as we currently expect to deploy throughout 2010. We are asking that additional persons interested in submitting their name wait until November 2010 and check our website at that time for continued need and an update on plans for 2011.
Donations – Please make checks payable to “Global Health Ministry”
  • Hundreds of colleagues from across CHE and many religious women who are members of our sponsoring congregations have made personal donations ranging from $5 to $5,000 to Global Health Ministry for earthquake relief. We have also received many donations from former volunteers and “friends of friends” of GHM as well as new donors who have heard of our efforts.


  • In addition, we have received generous donations from our sponsoring congregations and emergency grants from CHE Foundations including Allegany Franciscan Ministries Foundation, McAuley Ministries and Catholic Health System. The CHE organization is committed long-term to continue to help rebuild Hospital St Francis de Sales in Port-au-Prince.
To Donate:
Monday, January 25, 10 a.m.
Haiti Medical Team
Pictured: Lisa Medvetz, M.D., Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital; Col. Paulette Schank, C.R.N.A., St. Mary Medical Center; Mary Gorman, M.D., Mercy Medical Center; and Steven Lowe, M.D., St. Mary Medical Center.
Global Health Ministry in partnership with CMMB sent a team of health care professionals to Port-au-Prince to provide medical assistance and supplies to the victims of the Haiti earthquake. Lisa Medvetz, M.D., Steven Lowe, M.D., Col. Paulette Schank, C.R.N.A., and Mary Gorman, M.D., arrived in Haiti on Friday morning.

The team reports they are “safe and well.” They are encountering many logistical challenges that were present before the earthquake, and intensified after the quake. Our two anesthesia providers have been providing care in Jacmel and our two surgeons, working with CMMB’s medical director, performed a number of surgeries in Lèogâne.


Dr. Medvetz loads supplies
Dr. Medvetz gets some help carrying supplies to the plane. St. Mary Medical Center, Mercy Fitzgerald and Mercy Philadelphia Hospitals, as well as many colleagues, generously donated critically needed medicines, supplies and instruments.
Volunteer Deployments

Additional volunteer groups or teams will not be deployed by Global Health Ministry for at least three weeks. Information from our Haiti partners and our own volunteers currently in Haiti indicate that there are enough international medical personnel to serve in the very limited medical facilities that are currently functioning or expected to open shortly. If we have a request from one of our established incountry partners for a definite specialty, we will contact any individuals who meet this need.

We are very grateful to the nearly 200 persons who e-mailed to volunteer their services. We foresee a long-term response to Haiti and we will keep all volunteers in our database and try to keep volunteers updated.

A special thank you to all donors across CHE and beyond. We have received so many generous donations and notes of support from colleagues, as well as friends and partners across the country. Your support is incredibly important and so appreciated. You have truly shown that ‘together we are so much more’.

NEWS ALERT:
Catholic Medical Mission Board’s relief efforts in Haiti to be featured on Larry King Live on CNN on Monday, January 25, at 9 p.m. EST.

Thursday, January 21, 9:30 a.m.
Global Health Ministry deployed four volunteers to Port-au-Prince, Haiti today.
  • Three volunteers are from Catholic Health East facilities:
  • Steven Lowe, M.D. – St. Mary Medical Center, Langhorne, Pa.
  • Paulette Schank, C.R.N.A. – St. Mary Medical Center, Langhorne, Pa.
  • Lisa Medvetz, M.D. – Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital (MHS-SEPA), Darby, Pa.
  • The fourth volunteer, who has served on Global Health Ministry surgery missions to Chulucanas, Peru, is:
  • Mary Gorman, M.D. – Mercy Medical Center, Baltimore, Md.
The volunteers will participate in surgical care being provided at Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB) clinics in Haiti. Global Health Ministry was assisted by Angel Flights, who provided free air flights from Philadelphia to Miami for the volunteers. CMMB arranged with a private donor to provide free flights from Miami through to Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Volunteer Update
  • Due to the overwhelmingly generous response, we are asking that persons interested in volunteering with a GHM medical team in Haiti follow our website for postings of any additional need for volunteers. No other persons have been chosen by GHM for a team at this time. We have notified a few people that they are on standby in case we receive an emergency request for a specific specialty. Persons who will be named to teams in the coming months will be contacted personally by GHM by phone or email.


  • More than 150 persons have contacted GHM to provide volunteer service. We are in the process of emailing each person to gather more information about them for our data bank. GHM is serving as a clearing house to pass on the names of volunteers who meet identified requirements to Catholic Relief Services and other organizations connected to GHM. Those organizations will be contacting any person who may meet a future need. GHM also expects to organize and deploy teams in the coming months to provide services to assist some of the organizations it has worked with since 1998 when GHM began bringing medical teams to Haiti.

Wednesday, January 20, 9:30 a.m.
GHM Needs Anesthesiologists, Orthopedic and Trauma Surgeons
Thank you to all of the individuals who have volunteered to be part of a future mission to Haiti. Your generosity is very much appreciated. We now have more than five times the number of people we need.

Because of this overwhelming response of volunteers, we are asking that any additional individuals please refrain from submitting your names as volunteers for the next few weeks, at least until February, with a few exceptions.

We are still in dire need of a number of medical personnel. Right now, our biggest need includes: Anesthesiologists, Orthopedic Surgeons and Trauma Surgeons.

If you are able to help, please submit your information directly to Sr. Mary Jo McGinley via e-mail at mmcginley@che.org. Please no phone calls. The qualified individual should submit his/her information directly. Please do not send an e-mail with information about someone you know. Rather, if you know someone who is a willing volunteer, please ask them to respond via e-mail to Sr. Mary Jo directly.

Again, thank you to all the volunteers and to those who have been so generous during the last week. We will continue to keep you up-to-date on the situation in Haiti as more information becomes available to us.

Monday, January 18, 12:15 p.m.

FROM CRS DIRECTOR DOROTHY GRILLO

  • St. Francois de Sales, one of the oldest hospitals in Haiti, was severely damaged during the earthquake. CRS and Caritas are working to get the hospital up and running. CRS facilitated the construction of a building at the hospital through Global Health Ministry with Catholic Health East. This building, intended for a new Maternity Unit, is one of the only remaining buildings. The Delivery Room, undamaged during the quake, is now working as a Surgery Room. Sadly we now know that 30 patients along with ten staff members died.

Monday, January 18, 9 a.m.

Volunteer Deployment

  • Orthopedic surgeons and anesthesiologist volunteers are on standby.
  • A medical team is expected to go out this week when their flight is cleared.
  • We are working with CMMB (Catholic Medical Mission Board) to send a team of 13.
  • CMMB will gather supplies, equipment, water, etc. GHM will coordinate volunteers.

Hospital St Francis de Sales (HSFS) in Port au Prince

  • 70 percent destroyed. Operational for emergency care and near ready to open for surgery.
  • Father Mede, CEO, and Dr Caidor, CMO, are okay and directing relief services.
  • Ten died at HSFS and many wounded no other specific info on human toll.
  • CRS is providing medicines, supplies, food, water and extra medical staff.
  • HSFS are very grateful to CHE and everyone who has donated to GHM.

Hospice St. Joseph - building destroyed, no injuries

  • Will continue to provide basic first aid, etc.
  • Have supplies and additional support more help not needed now

Additional Volunteers

  • Creole speaking medical professionals are being referred directly to Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and they will vet and deploy those qualified and needed.
  • Local volunteers in our home office are helping us handle calls and e-mails. E-mail is the best way to communicate with us at this time.
  • Additional volunteers: email mmcginley@che.org with this information
    1. Name, specific professional level (ex. M.D. – Ortho surgeon; R.N. – ICU)
    2. Contact info: E-mail address; work phone; cell phone; home address
    3. Workplace: Name of place and location.
    4. Language – Fluent or Conversational in Haitian Creole or French?

Donations

  • Credit Card donations can be made via DONATE NOW on www.globalhealthministry.org. 100 percent of all donations will be used for: emergency relief [medicines, food, water], then debris removal and rebuilding. Accountability structures and methods to wire money to responsible parties have been in place and will continue to be used to send donations directly to recipients. Thank you!

Friday, January 15, 11 a.m.

WHAT WE STILL DO NOT KNOW

  • No word from Hospital St. Francis de Sales (located just blocks from National Palace, National Cathedral and Govt buildings which all collapsed.) However, CBS3 in Philadelphia is contacting the CBS Network TV that is in Port-au-Prince and asking them to try to get us information on the status of the hospital.
  • No word from family members of some GHM volunteers who are Haitian-American.
  • When it will be appropriate to bring in a GHM medical team (see last bullet point below).

NEW INFORMATION

  • Eunice Laborde, R.N., a GHM Haiti volunteer from St Joseph in Tampa, called to say: Her brother and his children are safe but she has lost contact with them.
  • Edith Pierre, R.N., GHM Haiti volunteer from Mercy Hospital Miami, reported: To date, Edith has heard of the death of a cousin. Her blood sister is one of the three that left yesterday from Mercy Hospital in Miami to meet up with a team in the Dominican Republic. They hope to cross into Haiti today with supplies.
  • Hospice St. Joseph, where GHM teams often stay during our medical missions, has been destroyed. The staff is safe. Here is an excerpt of email received from Geri OHare last night: We are OK but the building collapsed. We had two visitors we were lucky everyone get out ok. We are sleeping in the yard and trying the best out of the situation. Most of our employees are ok. I have not been able to receive news from three of them. Soeurette lost several members of her family including a daughter. Others also lost family members. Right now every program will be put on hold for a long long time. We have to go from a program mode to a humanitarian mode for some time. We start helping people on a small scale but the need is overwhelmed. Haiti is no longer what you knew. Everything is lost. Please call my wife for me.
  • Well-intentioned individuals and groups that do not have an established presence in Haiti and are trying to enter through the Dominican Republic are having a difficult time getting to where the people are who need help.
  • Sr. Mary Jo was on a conference call yesterday as a member of the U.S. Catholic Consortium of International Health Care. Members include many Catholic health systems in the U.S. as well as CRS (Catholic Relief Services) and CMMB (Catholic Medical Mission Board). CRS and CMMB, who both have a permanent presence in Port-au-Prince, recommend continuing to work with them and the International Emergency Response groups to let those groups get in first and do what they do best and help establish a basic infrastructure that will allow other smaller groups like GHM to respond to identified needs.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR ALL THE PEOPLE AND ESPECIALLY

  • Archbishop Miot, our friend and Chair of Hospital St Francis de Sales.
  • The children killed when Paula Thybulles orphanage collapsed.
  • Staff killed when Father Rick Frechettes hospital in Petionville collapsed.
  • Edith Pierres cousin.

Thursday, January 14, 1 p.m.

WHAT WE DO NOT KNOW

  • No word from Hospital St. Francis de Sales (located just blocks from National Palace, National Cathedral and Govt buildings all collapsed!).
  • No word from Hospice St Joseph hospitality house.
  • No word from family members of most GHM volunteers who are Haitian-American.

WHAT WE DO KNOW

  • Paula Thybulle is okay; but the Notre Dame Clinic and orphanage were destroyed and three children were killed.
  • Fr. Rick Frechette was in the U.S.; but two of his pediatric hospitals sustained significant damage.
  • Sr. Jackie Piccard, RJM and all in Gros Morne are okay; but the RJM convent in Port-au-Prince collapsed and one sister is injured with no access to care.
  • Archbishop Miot, Chair of Hospital St Francis de Sales, was among the scores of people who were killed when the Cathedral collapsed. He is our friend and was our number one contact related to Hospital St. Francis de Sales.
  • Catholic Relief Services - Haiti offices are okay and the staff was uninjured. Farid, our main contact, is okay and in e-mail contact with us as he is trying to get word of all our friends at Hospital St Francis de Sales.
  • Matthew 25 House the building and staff are okay and providing care for neighborhood
  • Karen Schneider RSM, MD was scheduled to take a team to Port-au-Prince on Wednesday, January 13 AmAir postponed the flight until Friday is trying to connect with anyone that can use their team of ER physicians if they are able to get there.
Global Health Ministry is an independent 501(c)3 organization sponsored by Hope Ministries and serves as a supportive health corporation of Catholic Health East.

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