For Immediate Release
Thursday, March 25, 2010

Media Contacts: Andrew Marx, 617-998-8977, (amarx@pih.org)
Meredith Eves, 617-998-8977, (meves@pih.org)

TOMORROW, FRIDAY, March 26 at 11:45AM: Partners In Health’s Joia Mukherjee and Donna Barry To Discuss Key Issues and Desired Outcomes from U.N. Donor Conference on March 31
Will Also Discuss PIH’s $125 Million Plan to Help Haiti Rebuild

BOSTON – Partners In Health, an international health organization that has been working in Haiti since 1987, will hold a press conference call TOMORROW, FRIDAY, March 26 at 11:45AM. PIH Medical Director Joia Mukherjee and Director of Policy and Advocacy Donna Barry will discuss key issues and desired outcomes from the U.N. Donor Conference. PIH will also provide feedback on the March 25 “pre-conference” for NGOs (also organized by the UN) in which PIH was a participant, and where PIH co-founder Paul Farmer spoke in his capacity as Deputy Special Envoy for Haiti. PIH has already announced a $125 million “Stand With Haiti” Fund which is supporting a comprehensive three-year recovery and rebuilding plan.

PIH is helping restore and strengthen services at Port-au-Prince's main public hospital and providing health care and social services at its 13 other hospitals and medical facilities in the Central Plateau and the Lower Artibonite to tens of thousands of people who have fled the devastated capital city.

WHO:  PIH Chief Medical Director Joia Mukherjee and PIH Policy and Advocacy Director Donna Barry

WHAT: PIH press conference call to discuss key issues and desired outcomes from the U.N. Donor Conference on March 31, feedback from the “pre-conference” for NGOs on March 25 and PIH’s $125 million “Stand With Haiti” Fund to help Haiti rebuild.

WHEN: TOMORROW, FRIDAY, March 26 at 11:45 AM

RSVP: Please email Meredith Eves at meves@pih.org or call (617) 998-8945 to RSVP

About PIH: PIH works in 12 countries around the world to provide quality health care to people and communities devastated by joint burdens of poverty and disease. PIH has been providing vital health care services in Haiti for more than 20 years and is the largest health care provider in the country, working with the Haitian Ministry of Health to deliver comprehensive health care services to a catchment area of 1.2 million across the Central Plateau and the Lower Artibonite Valley.  

For Immediate Release
Thursday, March 4, 2010

 

TOMORROW, FRIDAY, March 5 at 11:00AM: Partners In Health Co-Founder and Executive Director Ophelia Dahl and

Chief Program Officer Ted Constan to Hold Press Conference Call   

BOSTON – Partners In Health, an international health organization that has been working in Haiti since 1987, will hold a press conference call TOMORROW, FRIDAY, March 5 at 11:00AM. PIH co-founder and Executive Director Ophelia Dahl and Chief Program Officer Ted Constan – who both returned to the United States on Tuesday night after a week in Haiti – will provide an update on current conditions and PIH's plans going forward. They will highlight the public health emergency that threatens hundreds of thousands of people who lost their homes and are now living in encampments lacking basic sanitation and decent shelter against the oncoming rains. PIH is operating mobile clinics at four of these settlements and providing care to refugees who have fled Port-au-Prince at its 12 hospitals and health centers in the Central Plateau and Artibonite regions north of the capital.

WHO:  PIH Executive Director Ophelia Dahl and Chief Program Officer Ted Constan

WHAT: Update call to discuss current situation and long-term rebuilding effort

WHEN: TOMORROW, FRIDAY, March 5 at 11:00 AM

RSVP: Please email Meredith Eves at meves@pih.org or call (617) 998-8945 to RSVP

About PIH: PIH works in 12 countries around the world to provide quality health care to people and communities devastated by joint burdens of poverty and disease. PIH has been providing vital health care services in Haiti for more than 20 years and is the largest health care provider in the country, working with the Haitian Ministry of Health to deliver comprehensive health care services to a catchment area of 1.2 million across the Central Plateau and the Lower Artibonite Valley.  

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For Immediate Release
Friday, February 5, 2010, 2:00pm ET

Media Contacts: Andrew Marx, 617-998-8977, (amarx@pih.org)
Meredith Eves, 617-998-8977, (meves@pih.org)

Partners In Health Expresses Gratitude for “Hope for Haiti” Support

Boston – Ophelia Dahl, the Executive Director of Partners In Health (PIH), issued the following statement after the Entertainment Industry Foundation announced the first disbursement of grants from the “Hope for Haiti Now” telethon, which was hosted by MTV on January 22. PIH, one of six beneficiaries of the telethon, will receive $8 million in the first round of grants.

"All of us at Partners In Health are overwhelmed by the generosity of people around the world who donated to the Hope for Haiti Now telethon. We want to thank the artists who gave of their time and celebrity to generate support and all those in the entertainment industry who made this remarkable event possible.

“We are honored and forever grateful to be one of the organizations benefitting from this extraordinary expression of solidarity with the Haitian people. The funds will support PIH’s immediate efforts to provide medical care and critical supplies to those affected by the earthquake, as well as PIH’s long term strategy to build back Haiti better than before.

“Going forward, PIH will continue to work with the Ministry of Health in Haiti to strengthen the public health infrastructure, mobilize people at the grassroots level to participate in the health care system and address the mid- and long-term health, social, and economic ramifications of the resettlement of thousands of people who have lost their homes. PIH will continue to Stand With Haiti in the months and years to come.”

  

ABOUT PARTNERS IN HEALTH

Partners In Health (PIH), founded in 1987 by Dr. Paul Farmer, Ophelia Dahl, Dr. Jim Yong Kim, Todd McCormack, and Thomas J. White, is an international health care organization based in Boston that works in 12 countries to deliver quality health care to people and communities devastated by joint burdens of poverty and disease. PIH’s work has three goals: to care for patients, to alleviate the root causes of disease, and to share lessons learned around the world.

For more than 20 years, PIH has been providing vital health care services in Haiti’s Central Plateau and Artibonite Valley. Working alongside the Ministry of Health to serve a catchment area of 1.2 million people, PIH has become one of the largest health care providers in the country.

PIH had more than 100 doctors, 600 nurse and 4,000 employees on the ground in Haiti working from 12 existing PIH medical facilities in Haiti before the earthquake struck on January 12th.

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For Immediate Release
Thursday, February 4, 2010, 2:00pm ET

Media Contacts: Andrew Marx, 617-998-8977, (amarx@pih.org)
Meredith Eves, 617-998-8977, (meves@pih.org)

Partners In Health: Thurs., 2/4 Report from Haiti

*** PIH spokespeople in Haiti and Boston available to provide additional insight on the situation ***

• PIH ON REBUILDING AGRICULTURAL SECTOR: After the devastating earthquake of Jan.12 and the subsequent exodus of thousands and thousands of people from the city, the most pressing need after medical attention and water is FOOD. Families already under difficulty trying to feed their own families are being asked to take in other members sometimes numbering up to 25 people. This is a near impossible challenge for them, as even if able to find food in the market, prices have risen so high they are unable to buy – even in the local markets. What little stock there is will surely be depleted in 3 months and the period between then and the first normal harvest will be desperate. Food aid may well be available in Port au Prince but we have yet to see any evidence of it here, and it will only be a short term band-aid. PIH/ZL has come up with a plan to try and relieve this situation and bring first harvests of food to the region in as little as 3 months. We are in the process of identifying all lands that are not currently under cultivation, or lying fallow, and will prepare and plant a series of crops that, with the help of fertilizers and water from irrigation (it is the dry season) will be harvested in three months.
• PIH Communications Director Andrew Marx returned to Boston last night after spending a week in Haiti. “I return from a week split between Port-au-Prince and PIH’s hospital in Cange both heartbroken and inspired. The destruction in and around Port-au-Prince is unfathomable from afar, the courage, dignity and cooperative spirit with which the Haitian people are working together to survive and rebuild are even more so. A devastating third wave of the public health catastrophe looms in the makeshift encampments where tens of thousands of people are living with minimal shelter, no sanitation facilities and very little food and clean water. But in several of these communities in Port-au-Prince and in areas outside the city to which thousands of refugees have fled, Zanmi Lasante (PIH’s Haitian sister organization) has launched mobile clinics, complete with pharmacies and simple laboratories, that are treating thousands of patients every day.” He is available for media interviews.
• In a recent interview, President Bill Clinton discussed the role Dr. Paul Farmer, United Nations Deputy Special Envoy to Haiti and co-founding of Partners In Health, is playing in Haiti’s current relief effort. Clinton commended both Farmer and PIH, stating that PIH/ZL’s clinics have developed “a model that has enabled them to serve…ten times the population you would normally think they could serve.” The former U.S. president clearly envisions PIH playing a central role in the redevelopment of Haiti’s health care infrastructure. Watch the entire video here.

ABOUT PARTNERS IN HEALTH

Partners In Health (PIH), founded in 1987 by Dr. Paul Farmer, Ophelia Dahl, Dr. Jim Yong Kim, Todd McCormack, and Thomas J. White, is an international health care organization based in Boston that works in 12 countries to deliver quality health care to people and communities devastated by joint burdens of poverty and disease. PIH’s work has three goals: to care for patients, to alleviate the root causes of disease, and to share lessons learned around the world.

For more than 20 years, PIH has been providing vital health care services in Haiti’s Central Plateau and Artibonite Valley. Working alongside the Ministry of Health to serve a catchment area of 1.2 million people, PIH has become one of the largest health care providers in the country.

PIH had more than 100 doctors, 600 nurse and 4,000 employees on the ground in Haiti working from 12 existing PIH medical facilities in Haiti before the earthquake struck on January 12th.

STAND WITH HAITI: PIH Immediate Response to Earthquake in Haiti

• PIH quickly established field hospitals in Port-au-Prince, helping set up 20 operating rooms, 12 of which were able to function around the clock. PIH was the first group designated by the World Health Organization to serve as the primary coordinators of University Hospital in Port-au-Prince (HUEH) and will continue to support the Ministry of Health leadership at HUEH.
• PIH established a comprehensive triage and relief transfer system to move patients back and forth from Port-au-Prince to PIH sites in the Central Plateau and Lower Artibonite Valley based on the services available at various sites.
• PIH was one of the first NGOs to evacuate patients in critical condition to hospitals in the United States and Dominican Republic as well as to the United States Naval Ship, the U.S.N.S. Comfort.
• PIH has sent 66 plane loads with more than 235 medical volunteers – orthopedic surgeons, anesthesiologists, surgical nurses and other medical professionals – and roughly 100,000 lbs of medical supplies to support the large network of PIH’s local health care providers already working in Haiti.
• The long-term ramifications in Haiti are going to be significant and far-reaching with a new, large group of vulnerable and displaced people. PIH has the experience and commitment to Stand with Haiti for many years to come.

Looking ahead, PIH’s efforts will be spent in three core areas:

1. supporting the public sector’s ability to provide health care;
2. mobilizing people at the grassroots level to participate in the health care system; and
3. addressing the mid- and long-term health, social, and economic ramifications of the resettlement of tens of thousands of people from Port-au-Prince to areas where PIH works.

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For Immediate Release
Wednesday, February 3, 2010, 2:00pm ET

Media Contacts: Andrew Marx, 617-998-8977, (amarx@pih.org)
Meredith Eves, 617-998-8977, (meves@pih.org)

Partners In Health: Wed., 2/3 Report from Haiti

*** PIH spokespeople in Haiti and Boston available to provide additional insight on the situation ***

• FOOD PRICES IN HAITI: Dr. Louise Ivers, a PIH physician working in Port-au-Prince, reports that the money needed to purchase a 25 kg (55.1 lbs) bag of rice has increased dramatically in the weeks since the January 12th earthquake. The forty-plus percent markup, from $30 USD (1,207 Haitian Gourdes) to $42 USD (1,690 Haitian Gourdes), offers further evidence that the people of Haiti, where the average GDP for last year is estimated at $1,317 USD, will face a variety of post-quake difficulties as the price of sustainable foods continue to rise in a country where access to long-term employment opportunities have all but disappeared. The quake destroyed both small, urban gardens located in the city and road and air access to larger outlying farms. Haiti last experienced a food crisis in 2008 when the price of rice rose 141 percent in the space of a few months. It is likely that the cost of non-perishable foods including rice will continue to increase for the foreseeable future.
• HAITI’S EARTHQUAKE CONNECTS PREVIOUSLY UNDIAGNOSED CHILD WITH HIV/TB TO PIH MEDICAL STAFF:On Saturday, January 30th, a 5-year-old child living in Port-au-Prince was admitted to a PIH medical facility in serious condition. Upon examination, the boy was found to test positive for both HIV and tuberculosis. At this time, the boy’s condition is critical, though as PIH’s Cate Oswald writes, “He's still hanging on, [we] had to give him immediate blood transfusion and oxygen--he's so weak.” PIH has put the young boy on both antiretroviral drugs and tuberculosis medications. Considering that the child lives in Port-au-Prince, healthcare workers are surprised to find a 5-year-old still unaware of his status. Zanmi Lasante, PIH’s sister organization, has implemented comprehensive diagnosis and treatment programs for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis in Haiti's Central Plateau and Artibonite Valley. PIH only rarely sees children as old as five presenting with HIV, having never been seen or treated. In the Central Plateau, we record a mother-to-child HIV transmission rate of less than 2 percent. Ms. Oswald writes, “[We don’t see these cases in our catchment area] at 5 years old!” U.S. Government statistics estimate that 120,000 Haitians, roughly 2 percent of the country’s pre-earthquake population, are living with HIV. The massive reverse urban migration in response to the devastation in Port-au-Prince will fundamentally change the public health needs in the Central Plateau and Artibonite Valley.
• President Bill Clinton on Partners in Health - http://standwithhaiti.org/haiti/news-entry/president-bill-clinton-on-pihs-role-in-building-haiti-back-better/

ABOUT PARTNERS IN HEALTH

Partners In Health (PIH), founded in 1987 by Dr. Paul Farmer, Ophelia Dahl, Dr. Jim Yong Kim, Todd McCormack, and Thomas J. White, is an international health care organization based in Boston that works in 12 countries to deliver quality health care to people and communities devastated by joint burdens of poverty and disease. PIH’s work has three goals: to care for patients, to alleviate the root causes of disease, and to share lessons learned around the world.

For more than 20 years, PIH has been providing vital health care services in Haiti’s Central Plateau and Artibonite Valley. Working alongside the Ministry of Health to serve a catchment area of 1.2 million people, PIH has become one of the largest health care providers in the country.

PIH had more than 100 doctors, 600 nurse and 4,000 employees on the ground in Haiti working from 12 existing PIH medical facilities in Haiti before the earthquake struck on January 12th.

STAND WITH HAITI: PIH Immediate Response to Earthquake in Haiti

• PIH quickly established field hospitals in Port-au-Prince, helping set up 20 operating rooms, 12 of which were able to function around the clock. PIH was the first group designated by the World Health Organization to serve as the primary coordinators of University Hospital in Port-au-Prince (HUEH) and will continue to support the Ministry of Health leadership at HUEH.
• PIH established a comprehensive triage and relief transfer system to move patients back and forth from Port-au-Prince to PIH sites in the Central Plateau and Lower Artibonite Valley based on the services available at various sites.
• PIH was one of the first NGOs to evacuate patients in critical condition to hospitals in the United States and Dominican Republic as well as to the United States Naval Ship, the U.S.N.S. Comfort.
• PIH has sent 66 plane loads with more than 235 medical volunteers – orthopedic surgeons, anesthesiologists, surgical nurses and other medical professionals – and roughly 100,000 lbs of medical supplies to support the large network of PIH’s local health care providers already working in Haiti.
• The long-term ramifications in Haiti are going to be significant and far-reaching with a new, large group of vulnerable and displaced people. PIH has the experience and commitment to Stand with Haiti for many years to come.

Looking ahead, PIH’s efforts will be spent in three core areas:

1. supporting the public sector’s ability to provide health care;
2. mobilizing people at the grassroots level to participate in the health care system; and
3. addressing the mid- and long-term health, social, and economic ramifications of the resettlement of tens of thousands of people from Port-au-Prince to areas where PIH works.

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For Immediate Release
Tuesday, February 2, 2010, Noon ET

Media Contacts: Andrew Marx, 617-998-8977, (amarx@pih.org)
Meredith Eves, 617-998-8977, (meves@pih.org)

Partners In Health: Tues., 2/2 Report from Haiti

*** PIH spokespeople in Haiti and Boston available to provide additional insight on the situation ***

• “The extraordinary Haitian leadership at the general hospital and the generous volunteers from around the world have made a functioning general hospital again within two weeks of the earthquake,” said PIH physician Evan Lyon, who spent two weeks working at HUEH in Port-au-Prince. “There are emergency and routine medical services running and improving daily.” He recalls one moment in particular on one of his last nights at HUEH that symbolizes the hospital’s focus moving from emergency operations to a full-service health care facility. “As I was walking from deep inside the campus, I saw two people walking toward me carrying small bundles cradled before them. They were walking quickly and with purpose but also calmly. I slowed and stood aside so they could pass. Deep in each bundle, I saw a newborn baby. Both had their eyes closed and looked healthy. I knew somehow they were OK. They were also on their way to the pediatric department, now a tent in front of the former pediatric building, which was destroyed. At the gate, they must have asked who could check on their babies. Someone welcomed them and showed the way to pediatrics. These children very likely didn't need a nurse or doctor for earthquake-related injuries, instead their families had brought them to HUEH for a routine checkup,” said Dr. Lyon. “Life continues even in the shadow of such sadness and death.” Dr. Lyon is currently in the U.S. and available for interviews.
• As PIH begins to move from short-term relief efforts towards long-term recovery and rebuilding work, finding sustainable ways to power hospitals will become a priority. Last fall, in partnership with the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF), PIH installed a 10,000 watt solar panel system on the roof of the public health facility in Boucan Carre, where PIH operates in collaboration with the Ministry of Health. While hospitals on the grid in the capital city were forced to care for patients by candlelight following the earthquake, the solar panels at Boucan Carre ensured that electricity was one less thing the staff had to worry about as they began treating an influx of earthquake victims. Boucan Carre was the first of ten sites in Haiti where SELF is planning to work with PIH to provide solar power. Following the earthquake, having sun powered medical facilities will be one of the goals for helping Haiti to build back better.
• Strengthening local health care delivery capacity.To date, 66 planes have carried 235 people and over 100,000 pounds of cargo for our operations in Haiti. Included among them were a nephrologist and critical care nurse from Dartmouth/Hitchcock medical center with a dialysis machine. In collaboration with the PIH/ZL team in Hinche, they are well on their way to establishing the region's first-ever dialysis center. Clinical staff in Hinche is receiving training on the equipment to ensure that once the volunteers have returned to the US that they will be able to run the center.
• From the Artibonite Valley: PIH has received multiple reports that the Lower Artibonite Valley—where two of our facilities are located—is a primary destination for people seeking refuge from the destruction in Port-au-Prince. It is clear that a key element of our long-term strategy will be to increase our capacity to serve a large and growing population in these communities, both with health care services (facility and community-based) and with social and economic support for the most vulnerable people in the area.

ABOUT PARTNERS IN HEALTH

Partners In Health (PIH), founded in 1987 by Dr. Paul Farmer, Ophelia Dahl, Dr. Jim Yong Kim, Todd McCormack, and Thomas J. White, is an international health care organization based in Boston that works in 12 countries to deliver quality health care to people and communities devastated by joint burdens of poverty and disease. PIH’s work has three goals: to care for patients, to alleviate the root causes of disease, and to share lessons learned around the world.

For more than 20 years, PIH has been providing vital health care services in Haiti’s Central Plateau and Artibonite Valley. Working alongside the Ministry of Health to serve a catchment area of 1.2 million people, PIH has become one of the largest health care providers in the country.

PIH had more than 100 doctors, 600 nurse and 4,000 employees on the ground in Haiti working from 12 existing PIH medical facilities in Haiti before the earthquake struck on January 12th.

STAND WITH HAITI: PIH Immediate Response to Earthquake in Haiti

• PIH quickly established field hospitals in Port-au-Prince, helping set up 20 operating rooms, 12 of which were able to function around the clock. PIH was the first group designated by the World Health Organization to serve as the primary coordinators of University Hospital in Port-au-Prince (HUEH) and will continue to support the Ministry of Health leadership at HUEH.
• PIH established a comprehensive triage and relief transfer system to move patients back and forth from Port-au-Prince to PIH sites in the Central Plateau and Lower Artibonite Valley based on the services available at various sites.
• PIH was one of the first NGOs to evacuate patients in critical condition to hospitals in the United States and Dominican Republic as well as to the United States Naval Ship, the U.S.N.S. Comfort.
• PIH has sent 66 plane loads with more than 235 medical volunteers – orthopedic surgeons, anesthesiologists, surgical nurses and other medical professionals – and roughly 100,000 lbs of medical supplies to support the large network of PIH’s local health care providers already working in Haiti.
• The long-term ramifications in Haiti are going to be significant and far-reaching with a new, large group of vulnerable and displaced people. PIH has the experience and commitment to Stand with Haiti for many years to come.

Looking ahead, PIH’s efforts will be spent in three core areas:

1. supporting the public sector’s ability to provide health care;
2. mobilizing people at the grassroots level to participate in the health care system; and
3. addressing the mid- and long-term health, social, and economic ramifications of the resettlement of tens of thousands of people from Port-au-Prince to areas where PIH works.

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For Immediate Release
Monday, February 1, 2010, 12:30pm ET
Media Contacts: Andrew Marx, 617-998-8977, (amarx@pih.org)
Meredith Eves, 617-998-8977, (meves@pih.org)

Partners In Health: Monday, 2/1 Report from Haiti

*** PIH spokespeople in Haiti and Boston available to provide additional insight on the situation ***

• In spite of recent press reports to the contrary, the PIH team continues to successfully airlift critical patients to U.S. hospitals as well as the USNS Comfort, which is located off the coast of Haiti.
• PIH medical providers, Sarah Marsh, Women’s Health Coordinator in Haiti returned to the United States after nearly 20 days on the ground and Dr. Evan Lyon, who was on the ground within 72 hours of the earthquake provided and coordinated critical care for patients at the University Hospital (HUEH) in Port-au-Prince, and at PIH/ZL medical facilities in St. Marc and Cange. They are available for media interviews for reflections on situation on the ground.
• PIH/ZL Mobile clinics help care for some of the poorest earthquake victims at spontaneous gathering areas: Numerous spontaneous temporary settlements are forming around Haiti, over 200 according to an estimate from PIH’s clinical director, Dr. Louise Ivers. These spontaneous gathering areas (SGAs) are different from Internally Displaced Person Camps, which are usually planned shelters. To help address health needs of the SGAs, PIH/ZL has deployed mobile clinic teams. “Our plan is to focus on these underserved areas in which these poor dwellers have always been among the poorest in Port-au-Prince and have been always disenfranchised," said Dr. Wesler Lambert of PIH/ZL. These mobile clinic teams have years of experience on the ground providing care to marginalized communities, and have efficiently begun to treat patients--many of which are in need of primary care services in addition to earthquake-related injuries. The PIH/ZL team is also planning to hire and train local community members for a community health worker-type role to help organize and monitor the ongoing health needs of their SGA communities, said Dr. Lambert.
• PIH has been incredibly touched and inspired by the outpouring of support we've received in the past few weeks. From celebrities to sports teams to activists--we are so thankful to all our partners in health. Click here to learn about how one woman brought a community of volunteers to stand in solidarity with PIH, and with the people of Haiti, and raised over $22,000 to support our efforts.

ABOUT PARTNERS IN HEALTH

Founded in 1987 by Dr. Paul Farmer, Partners In Health (PIH) is an international health care organization based in Boston that works in 12 countries dedicated to delivering quality health care to people and communities devastated by joint burdens of poverty and disease. PIH’s work has three goals: to care for patients, to alleviate the root causes of disease and to share lessons learned around the world.

PIH has been providing vital health care services in Haiti for more than 20 years and is one of the largest health care providers in the country, working with the Haitian Ministry of Health to deliver comprehensive health care services to a catchment area of 1.2 million across the Central Plateau and the Lower Artibonite Valley.

PIH had more than 100 doctors, 600 nurse and 4,000 employees on the ground in Haiti working from 12 existing PIH medical facilities in Haiti before the earthquake struck on January 12th.

STAND WITH HAITI: PIH Immediate Response to Earthquake in Haiti

• PIH quickly established field hospitals in Port-au-Prince, and currently has 20 operating rooms up and running, with 12 functioning 24-hours a day. PIH has been designated by the World Health Organization to serve as the primary coordinators of University Hospital in Port-au-Prince (HUEH).
• PIH established a relief transfer system to transfer patients from Port-au-Prince (HUEH) to PIH sites in the Central Plateau and Lower Artibonite Valley, which includes 12 clinical facilities already treating patients.
• PIH was one of the first NGOs to evacuate patients in critical condition to hospitals in the United States and Dominican Republic and is now coordinating the evacuation of patients in critical condition to the United States Naval Ship, the U.S.N.S. Comfort.
• PIH has sent 66 plane loads with more than 210 medical volunteers – orthopedic surgeons, anesthesiologists, surgical nurses and other medical professionals – and 150,000 lbs of medical supplies to support the more than 4,500 PIH health care providers already in Haiti.
• The long-term ramifications in Haiti are going to be significant and far-reaching with a new, large group of vulnerable and displaced people. PIH has the experience and commitment to Stand with Haiti for many years to come.

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For Immediate Release
Friday, January 29, 2010, 11:30am ET
Media Contacts: Andrew Marx, 617-998-8977, (amarx@pih.org)
Meredith Eves, 617-998-8977, (meves@pih.org)

Partners In Health: Friday, 1/29 Report from Haiti

*** PIH spokespeople in Haiti and Boston available to provide additional insight on the situation ***

• Dr. Paul Farmer, PIH co-Founder and United Nations Deputy Special Envoy for Haiti, testified at the “Haiti: From Rescue to Reconstruction” hearing of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday. Click here to read his testimony.
• Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) introduced legislation to speed recovery efforts in post-earthquake Haiti. The legislation focuses on three important aspects to rebuilding Haiti – debt relief, infrastructure and trade. Click here for more information.
• PIH’s Chief Medical Director Dr. Joia Mukherjee on capacitating Haiti’s government: “Where we’re [PIH] the strongest is being able to go into the community to work with people where the needs are. Remember, only a minority of people have been able to actually reach a hospital. The PIH team mobilized teams to the tent cities – sheet cities, really - to provide wounded people with first aid and higher level medical care. We need to massively expand this community based effort and we are working with the Haitian government to make it happen. As much as possible, we need to help capacitate the Haitian’s government ability to respond and help them do the work they want to do. They should have food, water, a tent, internet – things they need to have a reasonable place to work and communicate from.” Dr. Mukherjee arrived in Haiti within 48 hours of the earthquake and was on the ground for 10 days before returning to Boston earlier this week. **She is available for media interviews**
• PIH Program Manager for Psychosocial Support and Mental Health in Haiti, Cate Oswald, in a recent post: “One of our patients, Benjamin, who has been battling tuberculosis off and on for 18 years, learned that he lost 10 family members. Others lost siblings, aunts, uncles, mothers, fathers, cousins, friends. In their grief, they immediately started asking themselves why were they saved from this tragedy and not others? How would they continue to live? Why did some people have to die in an instant while they have been able to receive life-saving treatment for their deadly illness? Should they abandon treatment and give up on life? The Zanmi Lasante staff in Hinche immediately recognized their patients' anguish and called on the support of Zanmi Lasante's head psychologist and Director of Psychosocial Support Services, Father Eddy Eustache, to help work with their patients.” Father Eddy drew on techniques he has used at PIH’s Rwanda project with genocide survivors. Efforts such as these are part of a more comprehensive psychosocial support plan for Zanmi Lasante staff, patients, and their families as we work together to address the psychological impact that the earthquake has had on everyone in Haiti.

ABOUT PARTNERS IN HEALTH

Founded in 1987 by Dr. Paul Farmer, Partners In Health (PIH) is an international health care organization based in Boston that works in 12 countries dedicated to delivering quality health care to people and communities devastated by joint burdens of poverty and disease. PIH’s work has three goals: to care for patients, to alleviate the root causes of disease and to share lessons learned around the world.

PIH has been providing vital health care services in Haiti for more than 20 years and is one of the largest health care providers in the country, working with the Haitian Ministry of Health to deliver comprehensive health care services to a catchment area of 1.2 million across the Central Plateau and the Lower Artibonite Valley. PIH had more than 100 doctors, 600 nurse and 4,000 employees on the ground in Haiti working from 12 existing PIH medical facilities in Haiti before the earthquake struck on January 12th.

STAND WITH HAITI: PIH Immediate Response to Earthquake in Haiti

• PIH quickly established field hospitals in Port-au-Prince, and currently has 20 operating rooms up and running, with 12 functioning 24-hours a day. PIH has been designated by the World Health Organization to serve as the primary coordinators of University Hospital in Port-au-Prince (HUEH).
• PIH established a relief transfer system to transfer patients from Port-au-Prince (HUEH) to PIH sites in the Central Plateau and Lower Artibonite Valley, which includes 12 clinical facilities already treating patients.
• PIH was one of the first NGOs to evacuate patients in critical condition to hospitals in the United States and Dominican Republic and is now coordinating the evacuation of patients in critical condition to the United States Naval Ship, the U.S.N.S. Comfort.
• PIH has sent 54 plane loads with more than 190 medical volunteers – orthopedic surgeons, anesthesiologists, surgical nurses and other medical professionals – and 150,000 lbs of medical supplies to support the more than 4,500 PIH health care providers already in Haiti.
• The long-term ramifications in Haiti are going to be significant and far-reaching with a new, large group of vulnerable and displaced people. PIH has the experience and commitment to Stand with Haiti for many years to come.

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	Listen a press conference with PIH Medical Director Joia Mukherjee. (1/26/2010)

For Immediate Release
Thursday, January 28, 2010, 11:30am ET
Media Contacts: Andrew Marx, 617-998-8977, (amarx@pih.org)
Meredith Eves, 617-998-8977, (meves@pih.org)

Partners In Health: Thurs., 1/28 Report from Haiti

*** PIH spokespeople in Haiti and Boston available to provide additional insight on the situation ***

• Dr. Paul Farmer, PIH co-Founder and United Nations Deputy Special Envoy for Haiti, is testifying at the “Haiti: From Rescue to Reconstruction” hearing of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee this morning.
• PIH’s Chief Medical Director Dr. Joia Mukherjee on capacitating Haiti’s public sector: “Where we’re [PIH] the strongest is being able to go into the community to work with people where the needs are. Remember, only a minority of people have been able to actually reach a hospital. The PIH team mobilized teams to the tent cities – sheet cities, really - to provide wounded people first aid and higher level medical care. We need to massively expand this community based effort and we are working with the Haitian government to make it happen. As much as possible, we need to help capacitate the Haitian’s government ability to respond and help them do the work they want to do. They should have food, water, a tent, internet – things they need to have a reasonable place to work and communicate from.” Dr. Mukherjee arrived in Haiti within 48 hours of the earthquake and was on the ground for 10 days before returning to Boston earlier this week. **She is available for media interviews**
• 14 days after the earthquake, PIH staff is still working hard to do whatever it takes to help earthquake victims—in both the short and long term. Dr. Ralph Ternier, a Haitian physician working at our clinic in Belladere, reported he brought twenty Haitian survivors were brought from a hospital in the Dominican Republic (DR) to PIH’s field hospital at Croix de Bouquets, where they will receive urgent surgeries and post-operative care. They were transported in PIH buses, and all arrived without incident. After the ten hour trip from the DR, Dr. Ternier told us, “We gave them hope and showed them how important they are for us. We've just started the long trip to help these people.”
• PIH Executive Director Ophelia Dahl recently traveled to Haiti to visit our hospitals in Port-au-Prince and in the Central Plateau. “Every time I walk into a ward filled with 50- 100 people lying on beds or cots all bandaged and casted, many with major hardware sticking out and all relatively comfortable, I am reminded of the layers of synchronicity and beautiful, sheer hard work everyone did to make the response so effective,” she reported. “And, understanding this team, and all you have accomplished so far, I know we will continue to push forward and make strides towards the next phase together.”

ABOUT PARTNERS IN HEALTH

Founded in 1987 by Dr. Paul Farmer, Partners In Health (PIH) is an international health care organization based in Boston that works in 12 countries to deliver high quality health care and to break the cycle of disease and poverty.

PIH has been providing vital health care services in Haiti for more than 20 years and is one of the largest health care providers in the country, working with the Haitian Ministry of Health to deliver comprehensive health care services to a catchment area of 1.2 million across the Central Plateau and the Lower Artibonite Valley.

PIH had more than 100 doctors, 600 nurse and 4,000 employees on the ground in Haiti working from 12 existing PIH medical facilities in Haiti before the earthquake struck on January 12th.

STAND WITH HAITI: PIH Immediate Response to Earthquake in Haiti

• PIH quickly established field hospitals in Port-au-Prince, and currently has 20 operating rooms up and running, with 12 functioning 24-hours a day. PIH has been designated by the World Health Organization to serve as the primary coordinators of University Hospital in Port-au-Prince (HUEH).
• PIH established a relief transfer system to transfer patients from Port-au-Prince (HUEH) to PIH sites in the Central Plateau and Lower Artibonite Valley, which includes 12 clinical facilities already treating patients.
• PIH was one of the first NGOs to evacuate patients in critical condition to hospitals in the United States and Dominican Republic and is now coordinating the evacuation of patients in critical condition to the United States Naval Ship, the U.S.S. Comfort.
• PIH has sent 48 plane loads with more than 170 medical volunteers – orthopedic surgeons, anesthesiologists, surgical nurses and other medical professionals – and 150,000 lbs of medical supplies to support the more than 4,500 PIH health care providers already in Haiti.
• The long-term ramifications in Haiti are going to be significant and far-reaching with a new, large group of vulnerable and displaced people. PIH has the experience and commitment to Stand with Haiti for many years to come.

 

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For Immediate Release
Wednesday, January 26, 2010, 2:00pm ET
Media Contacts: Andrew Marx, 617-998-8977, (amarx@pih.org)
Meredith Eves, 617-998-8977, (meves@pih.org)

Partners In Health: Wed., 1/27 Report from Haiti

*** PIH spokespeople in Haiti and Boston available to provide additional insight on the situation ***

• Dr. Paul Farmer, PIH co-Founder and United Nations Deputy Special Envoy for Haiti, will be testifying at the “Haiti: From Rescue to Reconstruction” hearing of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday, January 28th at 10am.
• Haitian medical staff continues to play a primary role in the PIH relief efforts. The U.S. volunteer medical teams in the Haiti are reporting that the Haitian staff at our clinics is crucial to the success of their surgical missions. “The [goal] is to eventually have the Haitians running their own hospital again,” wrote Nelson Aquino in a recent email. Nelson is a nurse anesthetist from Children’s Hospital Boston, and is currently working at the general hospital (HUEH) in Port-au-Prince. “The Haitian doctors, surgeons, anesthesia and nurses work with us in the OR, PACU and outside tents,” he added, also expressing his amazement that many of his Haitian counterparts are working side-by-side, despite being traumatized by the loss of family members and homes. “I can't imagine what they are all experiencing but as I have said before, it amazes me how strong willed the people are going on with life.” Training and supporting Haitian clinicians going forward will also hold the key to any successful long-term rebuilding plans for Haiti.
• Partners In Health’s Chief Medical Director Dr. Joia Mukherjee on the long-term demographic shift in Haiti: “If we think about what happened during Katrina [in the United States] this is even greater than that horror. This represents a massive demographic shift. The rural areas are going to be inundated with people from Port-au-Prince who really have nothing to go back to; local towns and officials are trying to absorb and house thousands of refugees who are flooding out of the city and into the countryside. Mayors and local officials have asked for thousands of tents as they are trying to house the refugees that are displaced. We need international attention on the displacement of all the people...We have to focus at least some of our attention to resettling people with some amount of dignity and some amount of public support.”
  
  Dr. Mukherjee arrived to Haiti within 48 hours of the earthquake and was on the ground for 10 days before returning to Boston earlier this week. **She is available for media interviews**
• PIH Executive Director Ophelia Dahl will be attending the State of the Union address tonight in Washington, DC, as a guest of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

ABOUT PARTNERS IN HEALTH

Founded in 1987 by Dr. Paul Farmer, Partners In Health (PIH) is an international health care organization based in Boston that works in 12 countries to deliver high quality health care and to break the cycle of disease and poverty.

PIH has been providing vital health care services in Haiti for more than 20 years and is one of the largest health care providers in the country, working with the Haitian Ministry of Health to deliver comprehensive health care services to a catchment area of 1.2 million across the Central Plateau and the Lower Artibonite Valley.

PIH had more than 100 doctors, 600 nurse and 4,000 employees on the ground in Haiti working from 12 existing PIH medical facilities in Haiti before the earthquake struck on January 12th.

STAND WITH HAITI: PIH Immediate Response to Earthquake in Haiti

• PIH quickly established field hospitals in Port-au-Prince, and currently has 20 operating rooms up and running, with 12 functioning 24-hours a day. PIH has been designated by the World Health Organization to serve as the primary coordinators of University Hospital in Port-au-Prince (HUEH).
• PIH established a relief transfer system to transfer patients from Port-au-Prince (HUEH) to PIH sites in the Central Plateau and Lower Artibonite Valley, which includes 12 clinical facilities already treating patients.
• PIH was one of the first NGOs to evacuate patients in critical condition to hospitals in the United States and Dominican Republic and is now coordinating the evacuation of patients in critical condition to the United States Naval Ship, the U.S.S. Comfort.
• PIH has sent 48 plane loads with more than 160 medical volunteers – orthopedic surgeons, anesthesiologists, surgical nurses and other medical professionals – and 150,000 lbs of medical supplies to support the more than 4,500 PIH health care providers already in Haiti.
• The long-term ramifications in Haiti are going to be significant and far-reaching with a new, large group of vulnerable and displaced people. PIH has the experience and commitment to Stand with Haiti for many years to come.

 

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For Immediate Release
Monday, January 25, 2010, 3:00pm ET
Media Contacts: Andrew Marx, 617-998-8977, (amarx@pih.org)
Meredith Eves, 617-998-8977, (meves@pih.org)
Partners In Health: Sat., 1/25 Report from Haiti

*** PIH spokespeople in Haiti and Boston available to provide additional insight on the situation ***

• Yesterday saw a breakthrough in delivering more desperately needed medical equipment and supplies to help treat, diagnosis, and monitor patients. Thanks to support from GE, a plane brought 4 anesthesia machines, 5-x-ray machines, 10 patient monitors, 10 ultra-sound machines, as well as technicians to help set up and operate this equipment, among other donations. Today, we’re expecting to land even more planes with supplies, including 9 more anesthesia machines donated from Partners Health Care and the University of Miami.
• PIH is rapidly strengthening staff and facilities in Belladere, a public hospital close to the Dominican Republic that PIH has operated for many years. As more patients leave devastated Port-au-Prince, many are hoping to find medical care across the border in the Dominican Republic. The Belladere facility is strategically placed to treat many of these patients, who may otherwise not survive the journey into the neighboring country, or not find the care they need at Dominican facilities.
• PIH is collaborating with the US military to assist in scaling up surgical services and distribution of relief in Haiti. Since the weekend, the PIH medical team at the central University Hospital in Port-au-Prince (HUEH), as well as other PIH facilities in the Central Plateau and Artibonite, have been airlifting patients in need of advanced surgical care to the USNS Comfort, harbored off the coast of Port-au-Prince. However, the Comfort’s 1,000 beds are quickly filling up. The military is now turning to PIH to help set up facilities within the country to take on the overflow of surgical cases and to meet the growing need for post-operative care. Additionally the military has turned to PIH’s experience on the ground to help distribute and set up tents to shelter patients and those who lost their homes in the earthquake.
• Today, PIH co-Founder Dr. Paul Farmer is in Montreal, Canada, attending a meeting of world leaders and public health experts from the G20 nations to discuss the short- and long-term crisis response needed for Haiti. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive are attending, along with delegates from 20 countries, the UN and the World Bank. “Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said the conference will review progress of the aid delivery to Haiti since the earthquake. It will also lay the groundwork for a larger meeting to focus on long-term reconstruction.”
• Fresh back from Haiti, where she arrived within 48 hours of the earthquake to coordinate PIH's response, Medical Director Dr. Joia Mukherjee is available for interviews and media requests. In addition, a surgical team from Partners Healthcare and Dr. Rob Sheridan, a surgeon who had started working at PIH’s hospital in Cange just before the earthquake struck, have also recently returned to the U.S. and are available for interviews.

ABOUT PARTNERS IN HEALTH

Founded in 1987 by Dr. Paul Farmer, Partners In Health (PIH) is an international health care organization based in Boston that works in 12 countries to deliver high quality health care and to break the cycle of disease and poverty.

PIH has been providing vital health care services in Haiti for more than 20 years and is one of the largest health care providers in the country, working with the Haitian Ministry of Health to deliver comprehensive health care services to a catchment area of 1.2 million across the Central Plateau and the Lower Artibonite Valley.

PIH had more than 100 doctors, 600 nurse and 4,000 employees on the ground in Haiti working from 12 existing PIH medical facilities in Haiti before the earthquake struck on January 12th.

STAND WITH HAITI: PIH Immediate Response to Earthquake in Haiti

• PIH quickly established field hospitals in Port-au-Prince, and currently has 20 operating rooms up and running, with 12 functioning 24-hours a day. PIH has been designated by the World Health Organization to serve as the primary coordinators of University Hospital in Port-au-Prince (HUEH).
• PIH established a relief transfer system to transfer patients from Port-au-Prince (HUEH) to PIH sites in the Central Plateau and Lower Artibonite Valley, which includes 12 clinical facilities already treating patients.
• PIH was one of the first NGOs to evacuate patients in critical condition to hospitals in the United States and Dominican Republic and is now coordinating the evacuation of patients in critical condition to the United States Naval Ship, the U.S.S. Comfort.
• PIH has sent 22 plane loads with more than 140 medical volunteers – orthopedic surgeons, anesthesiologists, surgical nurses and other medical professionals – and several thousand pounds of medical supplies to support the more than 4,500 PIH health care providers already in Haiti.
• The long-term ramifications in Haiti are going to be significant and far-reaching with a new, large group of vulnerable and displaced people. PIH has the experience and commitment to Stand with Haiti for many years to come.

 

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For Immediate Release
Saturday, January 23, 2010, 1:00pm ET
Media Contacts: Andrew Marx, 617-998-8977, (amarx@pih.org)
Meredith Eves, 617-998-8977, (meves@pih.org)
Partners In Health: Sat., 1/23 Report from Haiti

*** PIH spokespeople in Haiti and Boston available to provide additional insight on the situation ***

In a late-night email from Port-au-Prince, PIH Medical Director Joia Mukherjee reported an inspiring example of lifesaving international collaboration from the night before. The case of a baby suffering from severe blood loss and in shock was discovered by the Haitian nurse who serves as Chief Administrator at HUEH, who was rounding by flashlight, with two Haitian doctors who had returned from their pediatric residencies in Cuba to help. Joia described what happened next:

“Because the blood bank that the Haitian Red Cross was to start was a day or two away, an orthopedic trauma surgeon from Grand Rapids, MI, stepped up to the plate and drew 60 cc of his own O negative blood into a regular syringe. Plastic surgeon John Meara [from Boston] put a needle into the baby’s tibial bone marrow (an intraosseus line) and we moved the baby to the operating room where anesthesiologists from Boston and Grand Rapids went into full code mode finally securing a line and giving the direct whole blood transfusion and nearly one liter of fluid (half the baby’s body weight), oxygen and antibiotics. Because we had no general surgeons, we transported the baby to one of the US military facilities, after several hours getting confirmation of its location. We don’t yet have an update onthe baby; however, we have every hope that she will do very, very well. My brief rest was made more peaceful by this one miraculous example of collaborative spirit between Haiti and nurses, doctors, drivers, and soldiers from around the world, on behalf of a tiny baby, whose life, like those of all babies, is our collective human responsibility.”

Dr. Mukherjee, who has been working around the clock in Haiti since 48 hours after the earthquake, will be returning briefly to Boston early next week and will be available for interviews.

The latest developments as reported by the PIH team in Haiti and Boston this morning

• PIH medical personnel on the ground in Haiti report continuing progress in ramping up surgical care, but warn that equal or greater attention, resources, and urgency are needed to address other dimensions of a humanitarian crisis affecting more than 3 million people — shelter, food, water, sanitation, primary medical care. “The reality now is medics are not the main issue in terms of care. It’s still a problem of supplies, coordination, post-operative care and the problem of internally displaced people. There will be more than one million people that need shelter — maybe many more — some with acute medical needs, some without. All in need of care, shelter, food, water, beds, etc. This is the next crisis. It’s happening now and I think it will get much worse very, very fast.” Large tents, x-rays, and heparin (to prevent blood clotting) top the current list of urgently needed supplies, along with rapid HIV tests and prophylaxis to protect against infection from needle-sticks and cuts for medical staff and patients.
• The PIH team also reports that life in returning in Port-au-Prince with street markets opening and Haitians courageously rebuilding their lives and demonstrating inspiring resilience in the face of such tragedy and loss. PIH’s Haitian doctors are expanding their reach into neighborhoods across Port-au-Prince, bringing medical care and other vital services to people who have set up encampments in parks, streets, and courtyards. PIH regards these self-organized communities as the best foundation for our medical response and calls on the international community to do the same by joining us in efforts to distribute food, water, shelter, sanitation and other essential services equitably and efficiently.
• Partners In Health was one of seven organizations benefiting from the most widely distributed telethon in history, Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief hosted by MTV last night from 8:00pm to 10:00pm (7:00 pm CST) and aired on all the major networks. Leonardo James Taylor also raised funds for Partners In Health’s relief work in Haiti last night at a sold-out concert in Great Barrington, MA. He has scheduled a second concert benefiting Haiti and PIH tonight.
• PIH Executive Director Ophelia Dahl — who landed in Port-au-Prince yesterday and has been meeting with our team there and at the 12 PIH sites located outside the capital city — thanked both celebrity participants and grassroots contributors to the Telethon and other benefit for their solidarity with the people of Haiti in this time of need:

"All of us at Partners In Health are overwhelmed by the generosity of people around the world who donated in the “Hope for Haiti” telethon. We are thankful to the many talented celebrities who gave their time to generate support for this cause and all those in the entertainment industry who made this remarkable show happen. Partners In Health, together with hundreds of other partner organizations, have been able to make great strides in the emergency medical relief. The funds raised will go a long way in helping us provide medical equipment and supplies as we work with the Ministry of Health in Haiti to strengthen the public health infrastructure in the months and years to come."

• As part of PIH’s long-term commitment to relief and reconstruction efforts in Haiti, PIH has greatly expanded its procurement and supply operation to include a 27,000 square foot warehouse space in Miami. The warehouse will serve as a primary storage and shipment point for PIH for medicines, medical equipment, and supplies, as well as vehicles and other equipment needed to rebuild and expand the public health infrastructure.
• The first of many surgical teams that Partners In Health has sent to Haiti returned to Boston last night, after dropping off one doctor in Palm Beach. Responding to the need for round-the-clock surgery and the outpouring of volunteers, PIH plans to rotate teams through Haiti regularly in order to avoid exhaustion and burnout and maintain the highest possible level of medical care. Several members of the team who returned on Friday are available for interviews.

ABOUT PARTNERS IN HEALTH

Founded in 1987 by Dr. Paul Farmer, Partners In Health (PIH) is an international health care organization based in Boston that works in 12 countries to deliver high quality health care and to break the cycle of disease and poverty.

PIH has been providing vital health care services in Haiti for more than 20 years and is one of the largest health care providers in the country, working with the Haitian Ministry of Health to deliver comprehensive health care services to a catchment area of 1.2 million across the Central Plateau and the Lower Artibonite Valley.

PIH had more than 100 doctors, 600 nurse and 4,000 employees on the ground in Haiti working from 12 existing PIH medical facilities in Haiti before the earthquake struck on January 12th.

STAND WITH HAITI: PIH Immediate Response to Earthquake in Haiti

• PIH quickly established field hospitals in Port-au-Prince, and currently has 20 operating rooms up and running, with 12 functioning 24-hours a day. PIH has been designated by the World Health Organization to serve as the primary coordinators of University Hospital in Port-au-Prince (HUEH).
• PIH established a relief transfer system to transfer patients from Port-au-Prince (HUEH) to PIH sites in the Central Plateau and Lower Artibonite Valley, which includes 12 clinical facilities already treating patients.
• PIH was one of the first NGOs to evacuate patients in critical condition to hospitals in the United States and Dominican Republic and is now coordinating the evacuation of patients in critical condition to the United States Naval Ship, the U.S.S. Comfort.
• PIH has sent 22 plane loads with more than 140 medical volunteers – orthopedic surgeons, anesthesiologists, surgical nurses and other medical professionals – and several thousand pounds of medical supplies to support the more than 4,500 PIH health care providers already in Haiti.