Medical team, nun bound for hard-hit Haiti - The Blade

Haiti MPHISE

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medical response, Pestel Resilience Capacity Zone
> http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2016/10/13/Toeldo-area-medical-team-nun-bound-for-hard-hit-Haiti.html <http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2016/10/13/Toeldo-area-medical-team-nun-bound-for-hard-hit-Haiti.html>
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> Medical team, nun bound for hard-hit Haiti
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> Hurricane Matthew has fizzled, but its impact will be felt for the foreseeable future in the Pestel region of Haiti, where a U.S. team of doctors will arrive today.
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> Dr. Richard Paat is embarking on his 65th medical mission trip. With him are three nurses from Toledo, a Haitian doctor from New York, and Sister Fidelis Rubbo from the Sylvania Franciscans.
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> Haiti’s death toll from the storm hit 1,000 this week.
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> “They’ve lost all their housing, their food, and water,” Dr. Paat said. “The entire area of Pestel was hit by the eye of the hurricane, so the information we’re getting is it’s a pretty tough scenario.”
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> Dr. Paat first went to Haiti after the devastating quake in 2010 that killed about 100,000 people. He is a clinical professor at the University of Toledo Medical Center, the former Medical College of Ohio, and has a practice in Maumee.
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> Among the chief concerns is cholera, which is hitting the region with about 125 cases, Dr. Paat said. His team spent Tuesday night packing medicine, supplies, and food donated by hospitals and groups.
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> Dr. Paat and his team made several trips to Pestel and have gotten to know many of the 40,000 people there.
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> “Our team is very experienced.” he said. “We’ve trained 30 people and 15 villagers to help themselves. We trained them on how to deliver babies, take care of nutrition, and run a health clinic there. But they need a lot of help right now.”
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> Sister Fidelis was a missionary in Haiti from 2001-13. She has many contacts there and speaks Creole, the native language. She’s a little wary of what images might greet her.
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> “It’s going to be hard to go back there,” she said. “That area of Haiti was the most lush. Most of their animals are gone, the salt has permeated the land, and they say fisheries may be lost from so much silt. It was a paradise, and now it seems like an empty space in a way.”
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> Dr. Paat’s team usually drives 10 hours from Port-au-Prince to Pestel in a sport utility vehicle, however Hurricane Matthew has made roads and bridges impassable. They’re going with Plan B — a six-hour boat ride west along the coast.
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> Once they arrive, they’ll meet up with eight Haitian doctors and pharmacists.
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> “I feel that God has given me certain skills to use,” Dr. Paat said. “One of them is doing these kinds of activities. These are our friends we’ve gotten to know who have lost everything.”
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> Dr. Paat and Sister Fidelis noted Haitians might not have much, but they’re tremendously friendly and grateful.
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> “It’s different when you look them in the eyes and shake their hands,” Sister Fidelis said. “The whole thing comes to life. I really got attached to them from the first time I visited. They hold their heads up because it’s their country.”
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> Contact Jay Skebba at: jskebba@theblade.com <mailto:jskebba@theblade.com>, 419-376-9414, or on Twitter @JaySkebbaBlade <https://twitter.com/JaySkebbaBlade>.