Haiti and the Israeli Field Hospital

Yitshak Kreiss, M.D., M.H.A., M.P.A, was the commander of the Israeli Defense Force field hospital in Haiti. In ten days of operation, his team treated over 1100 patients. By the time they left, other facilities were up and running, able to take over.

Today I heard Mitchell Schwaber, M.D. describe the time they spent in Haiti after the earthquake on December 12 that killed over 200,000. 86 hours after the earthquake, the hospital was up and running. Each patient had an electronic medical record with their photo.

The Israelis were joined in their efforts by Canadian nurses and Columbian surgeons. They used Moroccan casting material and Haitian-made orthopedic screws. They preformed lab tests, x-rays, surgery and delivered babies. They had an ethics panel to make the hard choices necessary in a disaster

After surgery, doctors worked the phones to make miracles happen. Their patients were transferred for additional care to a US surgical ship and hospitals in Miami and New York. Patients that were well enough went home.

All the care was free. In Haiti, where poverty was overwhelming, individuals received amazing, life saving care, regardless of the ability to pay.

Dr. Kreiss, on the day they were leaving, told his team, “Hope is the antidote to the despair of disaster” These amazing men and women gave the people of Haiti hope.

I for one am grateful.