Dartmouth-Hitchcock Team Responds to Devastation in Haiti

A team of nine physicians and nurses from Dartmouth-Hitchcock, led by Trauma Program Director Rajan Gupta, left for Haiti on January 16 to provide aid to the many who were critically injured by the devastating earthquake.

A second team departed for Haiti on January 20. The team of one physician and eight nurses was led by Jim Geiling, MD, Chief of the Medical Service and Director of the Intensive Care Unit at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in White River Junction, VT. Rachel Allen, RN, BSN, was the assistant team leader and part of a nursing contingent that was drawn from many of DHMC's critical care areas.

On January 21, Brian Remillard, MD, Section Chief of Nephrology and Hypertension at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC), left from Lebanon along with a plane full of supplies as part of the ongoing Dartmouth Haiti Response. As a nephrologist, Dr. Remillard is highly experienced with kidney-related disorders and was called upon to offer assistance to severely injured patients suffering from what is commonly termed "crush syndrome," one of the chief causes of death after an earthquake. Crush syndrome is a form of acute kidney failure set off when limbs are crushed and which often kills a high percentage of its victims.

Others Join the Relief Effort

Students at Dartmouth College raised more than $90,000 for Haiti relief efforts soon after the devastating earthquake, according to Steve Smith, a college spokesman. They are nearing their goal of $100,000 in donations to

Partners in Health, a health care provider with 11 clinics in Haiti that was co-founded by Dartmouth College President Jim Yong Kim.

Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital has donated $25,000 in medical supplies and another $25,000 in donations to American Red Cross.

Mt. Ascutney Hospital has sent 600 pounds of medical supplies and set up a system to allow staff to buy medical supplies at cost to be shipped to Haiti.