Dr. John Joseph carries a young boy to the operating room.
On Friday, January 24, 2010, Bethesda Memorial Hospital anesthesiologist John Joseph, M.D., podiatrists Julio Ortiz, D.P.M., and Kyle Kinmon, D.P.M., orthopaedic surgeon Rajen Naidoo, M.D., and operating room technician Franz Desnor, arrived in Port-au-Prince Haiti to set up a temporary surgical suite in CDTI Hospital (Centre de Diagnostic et de Traitement Integre) that had been severely damaged by the earthquake.
(l-r) Franz Desnor, Dr. Kyle Kinmon, Dr. Julio Ortiz and Dr. Rajen Naidoo.
During their visit, the physicians saw more than 150 patients, working 18-hour to repair broken limbs and sew torn hands, while surviving on granola bars and bottled water. At first the people were mistrustful of Dr. Joseph and his team, fearing that they would lose their limbs at the hands of the physicians. Here is an excerpt from Dr. Josephs lessons learned:
Be a good neighbor. Tear down the hedges and tall fences that separate us and go outside the comfort zone. Learn to respect and appreciate what simple things we have, like running drinkable water. You gain insight of a culture born from decades of oppression and yet demonstrate unrivaled resilience and relentless survival instinct.
This experience was medicine at its best. As a medical professional, providing relief service in Haiti at CDTI reminded me of the true meaning of practicing medicine. No relative value based units, no DRGs, no PPOs or HMOs, no medical malpractice lawsuits, no pay for performance adjustments. Even when working with very limited supplies, under very rudimentary conditions, the care we provided was always appreciated like it was the only care the Haitian people had ever received. When we bonded and sympathized with our patients, the feelings were mutual. They smiled as we walked in their direction. We could do no harm. They knew we had little to work with and that we would do our best. And if your best wasnt good enough, it was better than nothing at all. That alone was motivation for peak performance.
It gives me great hope that whatever collective effort is made by the international community in Haiti that it will enrich the human spirit of our time.
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