Fargo Moorhead Medical team

Promise for Haiti Survey


Please give a narrative description of your trip include in it how many members accompanied you on this trip; what was the purpose/ goals of your trip? What was accomplished, what may need to be done. We had 16 team members: 4 surgeons, 4 CRNAs, 4 nurses, 1 pre-med student, 1 medical supply specialist, and 2 non-medical members. We did 35 surgeries, organized 23 pallets supplies, and organized storage areas in the PACU. We also had 3 fourth year Haitian medical students, who scrubbed in with the surgeons, getting one-on-one instruction.

2. How did you travel to Pignon? Were there any problems with your flight and or arrangement? Do you have any suggestions to make this an easier process? We traveled from PAP to Pignon by large van, and Caleb Lucien’s personal truck. The only problem was that the hospital had not arranged for a large enough vehicle and had not clearly communicated what had been arranged; we were fortunate that Caleb had extra space in the vehicles he had brought to retrieve his team. The response from administration was inadequate, and I arranged with Caleb to share vehicles with him returning to PAP. The roads have improved except that between Pignon and Hinche, which is supposed to be paved starting in March. MAF is trying to get a 10 seater plane, but right now there are no large charter planes available between PAP and Pignon. The drive takes 4 1/2 to 5 hours, door to door (with one 20 min stop).

3. What were your lodging arrangements while in Pignon? MN dorm? Iowa dorm? Other?? Any suggestions? Recommendations? Did you have any problems? Do you have any hints or notes you want to pass on to other teams? MN dorm. Hot water was absent (Evenel was informed, but I did not check with Jared – and should have). Water pressure was variable but OK. We conserved as much as possible. The food was excellent and plentiful, and had no one with any GI symptoms this trip. We had only 1/3 the food/snacks sent ahead, but had enough. A large water dispenser was available with drinkable water and we brought our own Nalgenes.

4. Is there information you would like passed on to the next team that is scheduled. We carried all of our meds with us, and explored getting them through TSA security the hard way, but I now have contact information at Miami International for TSA, and they just ask that we contact them in advance, advising them what we’re carrying and why, with flight information. We also tried the NGO franchise shipping process, and our boxes did not arrive intact. Some were broken open, and a few were missing (4 of those with personal food).

5. Did you have any problems issues, occurrences that need to be addressed by the hospital or the Board? We’ve had conversations with the hospital about clarifying the shipping process and have further clarifications. We may also combine shipments with HIM, sharing a shipping container with them, which would be brought to Pignon intact.

6. Anything else you would like to share about your trip? Pignon is getting paved, and there are more motorized vehicles than we’ve ever seen. Doctors Without Borders is running the cholera treatment center, training local personnel, and utilizing the maternity house to isolate patients. The hospital has fewer staff, those remaining worked very hard with us all week. We took care of a gunshot victim who lost part of his leg in a demonstration in Cap Haitien in November; he had an AKA done and debridement and will go out to Caleb’s rehab center at the camp when he’s ready. We also connected with old patients and friends all week long.