NYC MEDICS WORKING IN HAITI
Upon arrival in Haiti within five days of the earthquake, NYC Medics' first teams bypassed the places where large scale aid was already gathering and headed to the places where aid might take longest to arrive. A team of trauma surgeons and anesthesiologists deployed to a hospital north of Haiti that was still standing, miraculously, but had received little support. They operated every day for 16 - 20 hours straight.
The second team established a mobile medical clinic based in Cite Militaire, part of Cite Soleil: the poorest slum in Port-au-Prince and one of the largest in the Western Hemisphere, where they have seen between 400 and 600 patient daily.
NYC Medics' volunteer Sean Kivelhahn tells the story:
There's no way to say this nicely: the conditions on the ground are brutal. The damage is unreal - everything is crushed and the smell of dead bodies is everywhere, but the people are so happy to have us here.
Our team has delivered care directly to the people that need it most. We were not alone in delivering this aid either: the residents of the communities we are serving now make up half of our ranks. Enough volunteers come to our clinic every morning to provide every medical provider with a Creole translator and the children of the internally displaced persons tent city next to our clinic formed a long supply chain carrying our midday equipment shipment in from the nearest drivable road. This community involvement allowed us to treat roughly one thousand patients in the first two days. Two thousand patients who otherwise would have waited . . . who knows how long?
One patient today stuck out: a 5 year old came on 1/22 with significant toe infection: we treated the wound, gave intramuscular and oral amoxicillin. The patient returned 1/23, 100% better toe now definitely viable. Yesterday we were considering amputation.
Every person that comes through our clinic - patient, volunteer, or passer-by – has suffered. The hardest part of wound care is keeping the flies out and making sure they don't get into the bandage. Everyone is so emotionally distraught we spend a lot of time just talking and listening to locals. Listening to their stories and providing emotional support helps them cope with their unimaginable losses. After our clinic today the children began dancing to our music and we joined in. The mothers were thankful for our helping their children smile and laugh again.
We have been operating in Cite Militarie and Cite Soliel, although we will likely be moving further into the shantytowns to find others that are yet to have any care. The destruction is horrible and the aftershocks are frightening, but the people are absolutely amazing and so thankful for our help. We are staying in tents, it is still too dangerous to be inside because there are many large aftershocks."
As the first teams come home this week, additional teams are set to deploy this weekend.
If you a medical professional and are interested in volunteering, please fill out the following volunteer application. One of our team members will be in contact with you.
You can help NYC Medics right now by making a contribution. 
MASSIVE EARTHQUAKE STRIKES CHINA
Death toll 13,000 and rising
In May, 2008, an 8.0 magnitude quake rocked Southeast China, killing upwards of 68,000 people and injuring more than 360,000 others. The earthquake was among the worst to strike China in decades, devastating countless small cities and towns in Sichuan and other nearby provinces. Over one million people have been impacted by this disaster that is unlike any other in recent history, and millions more will need assistance for years to recover from this tragic event.
While NYC Medics was not been able to directly respond to this disaster to date, due to access issues experienced by many international organizations, this event is the type that we believe we have the skills to be of help to people in need. The lessons learned from this and other disasters continue to inform our work both immediately and in the future.
