Grace Children's Hospital Wednesday Update!

Progress is being made at Grace Children’s Hospital! Dr. Jeannine Hatt, an ICC USA board member is leading a team of doctors from Texas. They arrived in Port-au-Prince on Monday night and hoped to start work on Tuesday.

On Wednesday morning, January 27, Haitian work crews were installing Bio-Sand Water Filters at Grace Children’s Hospital to provide clean water for patients and staff at the hospital, as well as the surrounding community. The water filters are simple, inexpensive to produce and install, and require little maintenance. Your support of the water program over the last year will help Haiti now as the country begins to recover from the earthquake. Remember, you can give to ICC at this link. Thank you for your support!

A brief update on Friday at Grace Children’s Hospital:

The German medical team received their first patients, including a 26 year old woman who is 4 months pregnant with a badly broken femur. The team believes her baby is uninjured, and were able to use an ancient but still working portable x-ray machine at the hospital to asses her injury.

Engineers arrived to continue inspection of Grace Children’s Hospital, and reinforced some damaged buildings so that items could be retrieved. The engineering team believes that the building which houses the children’s ward could possibly be salvaged, but it will require extensive reconstruction.

A larger tarp was erected and the children from the inpatient ward were moved to a new, more comfortable area of the hospital grounds.

As the hospital employees gather at the hospital in anticipation of resuming programming, it is clear that many are emotionally traumatized by the devastation surrounding them. While this is understandable, it is heartbreaking. We are seeking to offer all the support and comfort that we can. Many of the staff cannot bring themselves to enter the administrative building to work, as fears of further aftershocks loom. The hospital generator was working Friday, so temporary electrical lines have been rigged up outside so that staff can work outside. On Monday morning, staff and relief workers will meet together for a time of prayer and remembrance before commencing with the work to be done. “Care providers will have great difficulty caring for others until they find greater peace and emotional support,” writes Dr. John Yates, who provided the information from the hospital.

He also writes of much international support- visits from U.S. soldiers, and supplies arriving from the Moroccan and German embassies. With the help of the community in Haiti, and our supporters around the world, ICC looks forward a future of recovery and service to the people of Haiti.

See our other earthquake posts here and here.

Don’t forget to visit us.internationalchildcare.org/earthquake for more information! You can give to ICC USA here.