Yale docs on Haiti mission

Six health professionals from the School of Medicine and Yale-New Haven Hospital treated about 400 victims of the Jan. 12 earthquake at a hospital in the town of Hinche in February.

“We were careful to make sure that we took the right people with the right stuff to the right place,” said Gregory Luke Larkin, M.D., professor of emergency medicine. Although the earthquake struck Port-au-Prince, many patients are being sent to other sites for medical treatment.

The team brought $12,000 worth of equipment and supplies, as well as their own food and water. “We didn’t need to drain any of the local resources,” said Larkin.

The group treated fractures and crush injuries, many of which were worsened by delays in obtaining medical care. Wounds that would have been minor if treated early became infected, often requiring amputation.

Medical teams continue to arrive in Haiti to relieve one another. “We handed off the baton,” said Larkin, “but the road to recovery is a long one.”