On January 12, 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Port au Prince, Haiti, a city and country totally unprepared for such an event. In response to the resulting disaster, RAM is using the DC-3 aircraft and a number of RAM volunteers to provide care to victims. We will post updates here as they come in.

REMEMBER: IF YOU INTEND TO TRAVEL TO HAITI OR THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC AT ANY POINT TO ASSIST WITH RELIEF OPERATIONS WITH ANY ORGANIZATION, YOU WILL NEED VACCINATIONS AND ANTI-MALARIAL MEDICATION. GO TO YOUR HEALTH DEPARTMENT TODAY TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE WHAT YOU NEED TO AVOID THE ILLNESSES ENDEMIC IN THESE COUNTRIES. A PASSPORT IS REQUIRED FOR ANY TRAVEL OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES. VOLUNTEERS WHO TRAVEL WITH REMOTE AREA MEDICAL COVER THEIR OWN TRAVEL EXPENSES.

DOCTORS, MIDLEVELS, PHARMACISTS/PHARM TECHS, and NURSES: REGISTER TO VOLUNTEER FOR HAITI HERE.
The data collected will be used only to coordinate health-care volunteers with possible future trips. This does not replace the standard RAM volunteer application. Data is not shared outside of RAM.

• Expedition Departure from Knoxville, TN, 15 January 2010
• Fundraising letter for RAM Haiti Earthquake Response(PDF)
• News report KNOXNEWS.COM about expedition departure
• PRNewswire article from January 18 about Haiti expedition
• First Haiti (Jimani) expedition photos (no captions)
• More Haiti Images

WE ASK FOR MONETARY DONATIONS ONLY AT THIS TIME. WITH MONEY, WE CAN PURCHASE BULK SUPPLIES AT REDUCED COST AND STANDARDIZE OUR INVENTORY. THANK YOU FOR SO MANY ACTS OF GENEROSITY IN THE PAST WEEK!

You can sponsor a stretcher for Haiti & still deduct the $126.36 contribution on your 2009 tax form. Congress passed a bill: all contributions to a non-profit for Haitian relief made before March 1, 2010 can be deducted on your 2009 return. Remote Area Medical 1834 Beech St. Knoxville TN 37920

January 28, 2010 @ 6:30pm

Stan and most of the expedition have returned temporarily. Jim Massengill has returned with the C-arm X-ray and the DR unit to set them up. They are being donated to the Bon Samaritan Foundation, who leases the Jimani hospital. We are assembling several new groups to return in coming weeks. If you are interested in being a medical volunteer, please enter your information here.

January 20, 2010 @12:35pm

STRETCHER DRIVE! Sponsor a Stretcher for Haiti - desperately needed at a hospital seeing over 1800 patients that only has 32 beds. $126.36 cost - gets a patient off the ground. Remote Area Medical 1834 Beech St. Knoxville, TN 37920 Mark "Stretcher" on the memo line!! THANK YOU!

NOW RECRUITING: THERE IS A GREAT NEED FOR ANESTHESIOLOGISTS AND FOR ANESTHESIOLOGY SUPPLIES TO GO TO THE RAM TEAM IN JIMANI

ANESTHESIOLOGISTS SHOULD CONTACT:
THOMAS KOEHL
International Medical Alliance at:
865.223.9324
thomas@imaonline.org

NO ADDITIONAL MEDICAL DOCTORS OR NURSES ARE CURRENTLY NEEDED.

ALL HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS AND SUPPORT VOLUNTEERS WHO HAVE CONTACTED RAM ARE ADVISED TO WATCH THE WEB SITE AT WWW.RAMUSA.ORG FOR NEWS ABOUT ADDITIONAL TEAMS WHO WILL BE NEEDED AT A LATER DATE.

THANK YOU FOR THE OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT FOR THE RAM HAITI EVENT. REMOTE AREA MEDICAL APPRECIATES WHAT EACH OF YOU IS DOING TO ASSIST THE HAITI COMMUNITY WHO ARE SO IN NEED OF YOUR HELP.

We spoke with Stan Brock, who is currently in Santo Domingo, where airplane repairs took the better part of the day. The team there is spending the night and launching for Jimani in the morning. No new photos have been sent.

We will be creating a needs page in the next day or so, where you can find lists of supplies, equipment, etc. We have been told that there are desperate needs for anesthesiologists and support personnel. Stories of gangrenous limbs needing amputation are coming to us. If you are able to take part, please contact RAM for details, which will hopefully be passed to us within the next 24 hours.

In other news, we just sent out an appeal letter via our email list for funds to cover the cost of flights to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Please specify Haiti Project on any donation you send. If we receive donations that exceed our expenses on this project, the excess funds will go to support other RAM projects.