MIAMI CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL VOLUNTEER TEAM
TO DISCUSS HAITI EARTHQUAKE RELIEF EFFORTS
MCH Foundation to Host Media Event
with Returning Doctors, Nurses & Staff
Who Will Share Experiences and Memories
from Tour in Devastated Country
MIAMI – A 14-member volunteer team from Miami Children’s Hospital will recount their medical relief efforts in earthquake-stricken Port-au-Prince, Haiti, during a special media availability at 10:30 a.m., Friday, Jan. 29. The event will be held in the Research Building Boardroom (3rd Flr.) at Miami Children’s Hospital, 3196 SW 62nd Avenue.
The team virtually worked night and day, providing critical medical care and treatment to hundreds of sick and injured children in what’s left of the Haitian capital.
“The hospital’s volunteer team of doctors and nurses hit the ground running upon arrival in Haiti,” says Miami Children’s Hospital President and CEO Narendra Kini, M.D. “We are awed by their commitment to children in need and honored that they carried with them the good wishes and spirit of goodwill we all feel at this time of intense need.”
Miami Children’s Hospital Foundation President Lucy Morillo says the entire Hospital family is proud of the team’s efforts. “Their daily updates from Port-au-Prince were truly heart-wrenching,” Morillo adds.
One of the first reports from the team included the following excerpt:
“The surgeries we will do today will be some the most emotionally difficult of our careers. It’s not difficult work technically, but it’s brutal on the soul of the surgeon. Yet the thumbs-up from patients, the smiles, the peek-a-boo from behind a blanket are the clues from our kids that they are well; that they will survive and they will triumph.”
The Miami Children’s Hospital volunteer team was comprised of: Andres Andres, OR Technician; Carolyn Domina ARNP, OR Director; Diana Garcia RN, PICU; Dr. Colin Knight, Pediatric Surgeon; Jean LaTouche RN, Emergency; Dr. Danielle Madril, Pediatric Anesthesiologist; Dr. Andrea Maggione Pediatrician/Hospitalist; Dr. Chad Perlyn, Plastic
Surgeon; Marie Prophete RN, Emergency/Sedation; Dr. Mario Reyes, Pediatrician/ Hospitalist; Alison Scheflow RN, PICU; Dr. Sharon Skaletzky, Critical Care Fellow; Carolina Soto, Pharmacist; and Dr. Steve Swirsky, Orthopedic Surgeon. They will share their experiences and memories from Haiti with all those present at the welcome home event.
“The stories they relate epitomize how great the need is…and will continue to be…for the country of Haiti as well as places like South Florida that are taking in victims,” Morillo adds.
According to Morillo, the Foundation and its friends have contributed a wealth of time, talents and funding in support of the Hospital’s outreach. Within days of the disaster, the Foundation, in concert with the United Nations and Incident Command Team, coordinated and shipped a plane load of medicine and medical supplies to Port-au-Prince. Since then, they have been helping secure aircraft to transport volunteers, gathering much-needed supplies, and paying for fuel to allow additional MCH volunteers to provide aid. Additionally, the Foundation is covering the cost of vaccinations for the volunteer team flying out this weekend.
“We are proud to be a part of this wonderful family of caring professionals and stand ready to help in any way we can,” she notes.
Morillo reminds South Florida residents that the Foundation has created a special designation within its fundraising initiatives that allows them to earmark contributions to help cover the cost of treatment for young victims of the Haiti earthquake who are transferred to Miami Children’s Hospital for emergency care. The Disaster Relief Fund provides aid to children affected by the Haiti earthquake through two different avenues:
- Check or Credit Card donation directly to Miami Children's Hospital Foundation- Disaster Relief Fund, 3196 SW 62nd Avenue Suite 300, Miami 33155.** Any donation questions please contact Alexandra Salcedo at 786/268-1746 or asalcedo@mchf.org
- Go to our website for Miami Children's Hospital Foundation Disaster Relief Fund http://www.mchf.org/donate/ . Press “donate now,” select fund as type of donation, and then select “disaster relief”
- Text the word “CHILDREN” to 85944 and a $5 donation will be automatically added to your cell phone bill. Make sure you respond “yes” to the reply message.*
Miami Children’s Hospital Foundation is a not-for profit 501 (C) (3) established to create a world-class pediatric hospital so no child need leave South Florida for superior medical care. “Funding World-Class Care” and following the principle that all children deserve state-of-the-art pediatric care with no financial boundaries, the Foundation helped 289-bed Miami Children’s Hospital become a leader in pediatric healthcare with more than 40 subspecialties, the largest pediatric neurology center in the U.S., a top provider of cardiology and neonatology services, and a Research Institute conducting in excess of 150 clinical trials and protocols.
Miami Children’s Hospital is one of 170 pediatric hospitals in North America affiliated with Children’s Miracle Network and South Florida’s only freestanding Hospital dedicated exclusively to children. To learn more about the Foundation and offer support, visit www.mchf.org, or call 305-666-2889 (toll free: 1-800-987-8701).
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*Text “children” to 85944 and send a $5 gift of health to the Miami Children’s Hospital Foundation Disaster Relief Fund. A one-time donation of $5 will be added to your mobile phone bill or deducted from your prepaid balance. Messaging and data rates may apply. You must reply YES to the confirmation message in order to complete the donation. All charges are billed by and payable to your mobile service provider. Service is available on most carriers. Donations are collected for the benefit of “Miami Children’s Hospital Foundation Disaster Relief Fund” by the Mobile Giving Foundation and are subject to the terms found at www.hmgf.org/t. You may unsubscribe at any time by replying STOP to short code 85944; Reply HELP to 85944 for help.
**Taxpayers who itemize deductions on their 2009 return qualify for this special tax relief provision, enacted Jan. 22. Only cash contributions made to these charities after Jan. 11, 2010, and before March 1, 2010, are eligible. This includes contributions made by text message, check, credit card or debit card.