January 23 Update - Posted January 24, 2010, 10:20 a.m. (EST)
NPFS Updates dictated over phone by Robin Schwartz and Dr. Peter Tinnemann to Monica Gery, NPH Information Officer
 At our St. Hélène home in Kenscoff, all of our staff have returned to work, but we are unsure about the teachers since school is currently not in session. A truckload of food donated by the World Food Programme arrived at St. Hélène and we estimate that the supply will last four weeks. Also UNICEF is providing us with a steady milk supply for the children in the hospital.
Adult cases are still decreasing at the hospital. Today, there were roughly 60 volunteer medical doctors, nurses and paramedics. We have improved our OR shifts and working 24-hours on surgeries. It is a very inspiring team who are in good mood and spirits.
There are roughly 200 patients and only a few are camping outside. This evening, local radio stations talked about numerous aftershocks and patients received news by cell phone feeling anxious to hear this news.
The medical team medi-vacked15 patients with spinal cord injuries and two patients with closed head injuries. A U.S. volunteer physician is helping to facilitate the transports based on the help of Senator John Edwards, together with Paul Haggis, both of whom visited the hospital today. Sean Penn and Maria Bello, representing Artists for Peace and Justice also came to see us. The University of Miami medical team is on the ground in Haiti. They assessed these 17 patients and approved their transport for treatment. The Haitian patients will be returned to Haiti after they receive the specialty care which is not available in Haiti.
Mobile clinics were in town today and working fine and we have plans for the program to expand. At the moment the UN and Haitian Ministry of Health described 600 temporary makeshift campsites from 1,000 to tens of thousands of people. The UN is currently trying to organize a response to these camps. Help requires shelter protection from the rain, food, water, sanitation, medical treatment and a vaccination campaign. Concerns rising in the health community and other NGOs are that there will be a shortage of food and potential epidemic outbreaks.
A few of the St. Luke street school buildings were destroyed in Cite Soleil and Wharf Jeremy but some are still intact and some are in the process of being assessed. Regardless, all school are closed. The buildings that are usable will be opened as clinics or for food distribution centers. The medical clinic in Wharf Jeremy is still standing and appears to be okay.
The next step for outreach activities is to go into the communities and provide services to the people living in temporary shelters. Top priorities are food, water, sanitation and vaccinations. Since the St. Luke Outreach team has worked in these communities for years, we are in a good position to help.
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.jpg) January 23 Update - Posted January 24, 2010, 10:20 a.m. (EST)
Message from Gena Heragty, Director of Special Needs Programs, NPH/NPFS Haiti
Kay Christine is the special needs home in Kenscoff at the NPH/NPFS St. Hélène Orphanage.
Kay Elaine was the special needs rehabilitation and educational programs in Petionville at the Father Wasson Center (building that collapsed).
Kay St. Germaine is the special needs rehabilitation and educational programs in Tabarre, lot adjacent to the St. Damien Pediatric Center.
'Tis a sunny day in Kenscoff and outside the kids are enjoying the sunshine – some lying on mattresses, some in their wheelchairs and some washing the dishes. Inside the house it is cold and the feeling is less relaxed. Those working inside (cook and cleaning staff) are inside because they have to be and they are afraid and nervous. Each noise gets the hearts racing again as everyone wonders if this time will be a big or a small tremor. The kids are not scared, but the staff are terrified. And me? I am permanently shaking! Not just me, all of us adults are this way. We do what we have to do and do our best to ensure the well-being and security of the kids, but make no mistake, we are also worried that another big one could come.
I was in Tabarre at Kay St. Germaine for the first earthquake (and also the second one) and my immediate thought was Kay Christine. I do not have great confidence in the building but thankfully it is fine and has survived both strong quakes with no damage. Our kids are sleeping inside – at my insistence because it is so cold and damp outside and we have many fragile kids. However, the rest of the kids in the orphanage are sleeping outside – on the basketball court. They are too afraid to sleep indoors. My kids are not afraid to be indoors and indeed they all sleep very, very well. Not so for us adults and personally I feel greatly the responsibility of having everyone indoors. We have all those from upstairs sleeping downstairs – girls in the therapy room and boys in the dining room. The more independent kids are in their own dorm downstairs.The nights are long and lonely as we wait for it to get bright and the kids to wake up. At least if they are awake they have a better chance of running outside if another earthquake occurs. I wonder what would happen to those that cannot walk if it happened when they are asleep. My plan is simple – if the shaking happens during the night, those that can get out will get out and I will stay with those that are bed ridden. Whatever will be will be, but there is no way I am leaving those kids on their own. Probably no one would get out as those that are sleeping would never get up in time. I try and think positively and I put my trust in God but none the less I am scared. Not for myself – for the kids. So I tell myself this, “ God brought me here to these kids so they are ultimately His responsibility. I can only do my best and the rest is up to Him.”
I was very happy to hear that several of the staff stayed with the kids and shielded their bodies with their own during the first earthquake. So if they were to die they were going to die together. The staff are brave and despite their fears they do as I ask and stay indoors to cook and take care of the kids as is required. With each tremor comes more fear and my heart aches for all of them. Sadly we lost one staff member. Dieudonne Massillion had been with us for just over 15 years. She was in her house and when the quake happened, she ran outside to get her youngest son. While running, a wall at the side of her house fell on top of her and she was dead before she reached the hospital. The hard thing for all of us is that with all that is happening we do not have time to grieve for her. She was buried the following day and not one of us was at the funeral – I was still in Peitonville and the staff here were too busy keeping things together.
It is very sad and hard to accept. Dieudonne has been as much a part of the Kay Christine family as any of the kids and she was a very good worker. Almost two years ago, her sister Olivia died from a stroke and Olivia also worked with us for many years. No one here can believe that in such a short time we have lost both of these sisters.
Our twins, Solina and Xiomala lost their sister Solita. Solita grew up here in the orphanage and she loved her sisters very much. She used to come to our house daily to braid their hair. Solita was living close to Port-Au-Prince (Delmas area) with other family members. She was eight months pregnant and she and her unborn baby died when the house they were living in collapsed. Her brother told me that she died because she was trying to get him out. On January 1, Solita spent the day with us here in Kay Christine and her sisters were very happy. Indeed last summer she spent a month with us and we were going to employ her in Kay St. Germaine after her baby was born. Many staff members lost friends or family. Carmelle lost her niece, Mme. Maxime lost a nephew, Mme. Casimir lost two nephews – and others lost in-laws, cousins, friends, etc.
.jpg) Our program in Petionville (Kay Elaine) at the Father Wasson Center no longer exists since the building collapsed. We lost our wonderful volunteer Molly Hightower during this collapse. (That collapse also killed Ryan Kloos, a young man that was here visiting his sister Erin Kloos, a volunteer. Molly had been with us since June and she was the one that got the kids using the swimming pool and she also helped with the riding program and many other activities in our three places. Molly had a bright smile that brightened every day and we miss her a lot. (Make a donation to support repair and relief efforts in Haiti in honor of Molly Hightower or Erin and Ryan Kloos.)
We were very lucky that at the time of the quake, all our staff from Petionville had already left and also the children that attended that day. Luckily for us all the staff are fine – apart from loosing homes! We have heard from some of the parents that used to attend but not all of them. I know that one of the parents lost his wife. They have two handicapped children, plus one other child and now this man is all alone and has no idea what he will do. Most of our staff from Petionville have been to visit us at Kay St. Germaine this past week and some have been helping in the hospital.
.jpg) In Tabarre (Kay St. Germaine) we lost one of our teachers. Marie Carmelle died in her house with her two small children. The youngest child was not yet one year old. Marie Carmelle had worked for many years in the kindergarden at the St. Hélène orphanage, but had transferred to our school in St. Germaine and she had spent one year with us. Marie Carmelle was loved by all the children and was full of life and energy. She always had a smile on her face and indeed when the school year started she told me, “Gena, you don't have to worry, this school year we will make you so proud.”
All other staff members are fine, thank God. Many have lost their homes and all they owned. Yolene, the director of our special needs school, has had a very difficult few days. Her husband was in his little shop when the building fell on top of him and she had no idea where he was as he never came home. She looked everywhere and eventually found him in a very serious state. He is paralyzed from the chest down, has a broken foot and was in danger of dying. Luckily we were able to arrange for him to be flown to the U.S. so he has a chance to live. But if he does survive, the road ahead will not be an easy one as he will most likely remain paralized. They were married in July.
Some of the parents of the children have phoned to say they are ok. Many have lost homes, but are thankful to be alive. So far not everyone has checked in with us so we do not know how they are. We hope that on Monday most will come to St. Germaine and we can plan the next weeks. At the moment we are giving lodging to a group of abandoned handicapped children that are being cared for by Partners in Health. They are beautiful kids and will probably be with us for a month or so. The plan is that they will find a location of their own and move there.
What now? Lots of ideas – we always talked about Kay St. Germaine being used in the afternoons and maybe serving adults – now there are so many people without limbs that we must see how we can help them and our center might just be the place to start a new program to serve these people – children and adults.
But for now, we need the tremors to stop. We need to find a way to get some sleep as we are all tired and stressed and operating on nervous energy. We need to find a way to deal with our losses – and we have lost so much. We need to be able to sit down without shaking, take a shower without being afraid that the building will collapse with us as did with our friends Erin and Molly. So once the tremors stop, we can move forward. Until then, we continue to live in stress.
May God grant eternal rest to those that who have lost their lives. May God protect those of us living and may God grant good care to all those suffering.
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Posted January 22, 2010, 8:50 a.m. (EST)
NPFS Updates dictated over phone by Robin Schwartz and Dr. Peter Tinnemann to Monica Gery, NPH Information Officer
.jpg) The hospital grounds are clearing up and patients are being discharged. Today, there were more than 60 patients in the outpatient clinic. We have also sent some adult patients to another hospital site more suited for their care. A group of visiting physicians went with them to work for the day at their site. We are also working on getting spinal cord and neurosurgical cases to the USS Comfort.
We have four surgical teams from the U.S. and Italy. These teams are complete teams that work 24-hour shifts. There are two major ORs and a small room transformed into an OR. They are still doing amputations. Our local hospital staff is working on getting back to pediatric care.
In collaboration with St. Hélène, we brought children down from Kenscoff. This effort was important so they could see the work that the hospital is doing and to share with their peers because they are very far removed.
One medical team provided medical care today for 40 patients living in one of the many makeshift camps. They are not really camps, but thousands of blankets connected with wooden sticks to try and protect them against the wind. They have no food, no water, no sanitation and no medical care. These camps are a big concern to all organizations.
The St. Luke Outreach team is working on going out into the community to distribute water and they are discussing strategies about combating possible future outbreaks of disease. If the rains come these tent cities will be washed away.
.jpg) We have an average of 80 volunteers excluding the Italian civil defense. Many of the volunteers are surgeons and physicians. We were very happy to receive surgical support from the first group of volunteer nurses. We appreciate all volunteers because the hospital staff is functioning at half capacity. Many staff have lost their homes, or family and have not been able to return to work. We do not have an exact number of missing staff.
We have a 35-year- old man that arrived positive for tetanus and has severe, deep wounds. Having tetanus can result in convulsions when exposed to light and sound. This patient was located in the ER, which is quite loud and whenever someone was shouting, he then started to convulse. He was treated with Valium, but continues to speak to everyone in English saying, “Please help me.” In most countries, tetanus is easily preventable with a single shot vaccine. Today, we received a tetanus shipment from the World Health Organization, so we are now able to vaccinate all in-coming patients.
Channel 5 from Italy visited us today along with two Italian newspapers. Robin had a radio interview with a station in St. Paul, Minnesota.
 Francisville Update
Marco Randon from Italy assists in managing the bakery at Francisville, the lot adjacent to the St. Damien complex. They are baking 5,000 rolls a day for distributions and the people are reporting that it is a miracle to smell such a wonderful aroma. This effort helped immensely in the very first days when supplies were short and continues to help.
The walls at the car mechanic workshop are damaged, but all the machinery inside is safe. Paolo Basso from Italy is helping with repairs and maintenance, when not busy downloading supplies or giving support at the hospital. The warehouse at Francisville is becoming the main hub supply and temporary home for the Italian civil service including their helicopter-landing site.
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Posted January 21, 2010, 2:15 p.m. (EST)
The St. Luke Ex-Pequeños* Support and Outreach Programs currently has a staff of 400. Ten people have been lost or were injured in the earthquake, but staff brought people with them to help. The water truck is going out daily. Clinics are continuing in all areas. The maternity clinic is continuing on a small scale for now. Security has increased by 25 people around our three buildings on the Tabarre property.
*An “Ex-Pequeño" is part of the NPH/NPFS family, having grown up at, or otherwise been supported by, one of its homes.
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Posted January 21, 2010, 10:15 a.m. (EST)
In-kind Donation Update by Megan Palacios, Home Correspondent of NPH Dominican Republic
 The NPH family in the Dominican Republic is playing a central role in the relief efforts for our brothers and sisters in Haiti. Since those fateful days last Tuesday, NPH DR has been gathering supplies and funds without rest in order to ensure that the relief work in St. Damien Hospital can serve as many people as possible. Goods and supplies are also being delivered to our brothers and sisters at the St. Hélène home.
A day and a half after the earthquake struck, NPH DR sent its first busload of supplies to Port-au-Prince. Included in this shipment was medical supplies, food, water, basic necessities, and a number of Italian medical workers who were among the first medical workers to arrive in Haiti to treat the scores of wounded. NPH DR staff, volunteers, and even some of the children are working hard to load the trucks and send shipments as frequently as everyday to every other day. Our close proximity to Haiti is a blessing that has allowed NPH DR to quickly send in supplies and make an immediate impact where other organizations might be limited.
Since that first shipment, NPH DR has already sent seven truck and busloads of vital supplies amounting to several tons and a large number of medical personnel and other volunteers whose on-the-ground work is saving lives. Thanks to the generous collaboration and tireless efforts of local and international donors, our home has sent and will continue to send medical supplies, mattresses, tents, food, water, fuel, among many other much needed supplies.
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Message from Gena Heragty, Director of Special Needs Programs, NPH/NPFS Haiti
One week later and still there are wounded not treated. One week later and so many dead, injured or just disappeared. Amazing how fast the world we live in can change. Kids in the orphanage still sleeping outdoors - except for my kids- they are inside since last week. All are fine and not in any way suffering from the tragedy.
I am in the hospital in Tabarre every day - helping where I can. The husband of the director of our special needs school is paralyzed from the chest down and we are all very concerned for him.
Lots of people helping out and everyone doing what they can. So many people left without arms or legs and my God they are so so strong. Lying in their beds, not complaining at all and they have lost so much. One girl lost a leg when she was rescuing her younger siblings. I don't know what to say - so many emotions and really no time to deal with them. At night when I lie down, the bed seems to be forever shaking and when I talk to people they say it is the same for them.
My heart aches for Haiti and the Haitian people. My heart aches for those I have loved and lost. Some people blame God or wonder if he is even here. I do not blame God nor do I doubt his existence. My mind is logical. this was a natural disaster and it wreaked so much havoc because Haiti was in a mess long before the earthquake.
People in tents all over the place- makeshift ones. Are they getting help? I worry for some because who will find them where they are, off the beaten path?
How am I? I am ok. I am alive and happy to be alive. O am happy for all the support I know and receive. I am sad as is everyone here. We have lost a lot but we have a lot to work for still. There is no time to grieve just now. Well maybe there is but we choose not to take it because the wounded need us to be strong if they are to survive. So we are ok and we are people of faith and we believe we can make things just a little better. For now this is all I can bring out of my mind.
Love to all.
Gena
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NPFS Update: Dr. Peter Tinnemann describes the aftershock and activities
6:00 a.m. (EST)
Peter said he was half awake and heard people getting up when the aftershock hit. It took him a few seconds to figure out what was going on. As he entered the hallway of the volunteer house, he began shouting, “Move, move,” to the other volunteers. Everyone raced down the stairs to the open yard.
The hospital was evacuated in about five minutes. People were shaken up, but in about 20 minutes it was calm again.
“I took a short 30-minute drive in town and did not see more collapsed buildings and there was no panic so things seemed to be back to normal. I stopped at a few tent cities and they are really disorganized and no presence of any agencies. Though disorganized, the people have been creative in finding ways to charge their cells phones. Many people explained that they will re-locate to the provinces to get away from the wounded and destruction. The PAP airport is secured by the US army and there are armed UN police and UN tanks out in the streets. So far we have not heard of any major incidences,” explained Peter.
The pediatric ward is slowly filling up. We received 10 children today from the temporary hospital site, Doctors Without Borders. We were happy that they also donated pain medications. Fifty patients were registered this morning and we were able to transfer a few patients to more suitable facility for adults. Today 40 surgeries were performed and just tonight there were 14 amputations. New volunteers are working on major casting for wounds, and they are excited to get hands on experience helping.
The Italian civil service went up the mountain to Kenscoff today to assess the buildings. They are also putting up tents that house 100 people including our medical volunteers.
The visiting press included Canale 5 and Rai 1, main Italian TV networks. Corriere della Sera, main daily Italian newspaper. The journalists have commented on the miracle of Saint Damien Hospital, the Saint Luke programs and Francisville. The Italian press also took a trip up to the orphanage to expand their knowledge of our organization. A group of eight Italian doctors will be arriving today.
The second most popular German TV station filmed today at the hospital along with popular UK channel 4. Other journalist stopped by from German newspapers and the Naples Daily from Florida who followed Sr. Judy around and a Tennessee magazine that shadowed a surgical team.
We were able to donate a few extra surgical supplies to the Israeli army and the Brazilian battalion of the UN mission to Haiti supplied us with fruits. The German Agroaction organization donated a truckload of rice, beans, oil and salt.
Posted January 20, 2010, 9:30 a.m. (EST)
At 6:03 am this morning there was an aftershock of 6.1 magnitude 30 miles west of Port-au-Prince. We have heard from the St. Damien Hospital in Tabarre, and everyone is okay. The entire staff, patients and volunteers are now outside of the buildings. Everyone at St. Hélène, our home for orphaned, abandoned and disadvantaged children in Kenscoff, are also safe.
Donate to support repair and relief efforts in Haiti.
Related Information:
• Updates on American Volunteers in Haiti
• What does Friends of the Orphans Do in Haiti?
• How Can I Help?
• Earthquake in Haiti Fact Sheet
• Message from Fr. Rick
• VIDEO: ABC News at St. Damien Hospital
• VIDEO: NBC Nightly News at St. Damien Hospital
• NPH Haiti Fact Sheet/Visitor's Guide
• Helping in Haiti
• Friends of the Orphans Haiti Initiative
• VIDEO: Fr. Rick Frechette in Haiti
• Their Stories: Father Rick Frechette, CP, D.O.
• Rehabilitation and Educational Center for Disabled Children Opens in Haiti
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