News
& Announcements VALLEY DOCTORS, NURSES RAISE FUNDS FOR EMERGENCY
MEDICAL TRIP TO HAITI
Valley residents can donate online, in-person
this Saturday at Harlingen , Brownsville , McAllen , Weslaco medical facilities
Valley residents can help send teams of Valley physicians, nurses, and
operating room technicians to help relieve the tragic suffering in Haiti through
fundraising efforts which will take place this Saturday at medical facilities
in Harlingen , Brownsville , McAllen and Weslaco as well as online starting Tuesday.
Teams of 10 Valley doctors, eight nurses, and two operating room techs
plan to fly to Haiti by Jan. 30 - or sooner if possible -- on commercial airlines
and then set up a desperately-needed medical clinic to treat injured and homeless
Haitians fleeing from the capital of Port-au-Prince following the devastating
earthquake on Jan. 12. The Valley medical personnel will work in five groups who
will man the clinic in Cap-Haītien on the north coast of Haiti , working in weekly
shifts.
The group of doctors includes two who are themselves from Haiti
- Dr. Garry Souffrant and Dr. Leslie Pean of Harlingen - as well as several other
physicians who are very familiar with Haiti as they have participated in medical
mission trips to the country for six years as part of Hope International Medical
Missions. The additional participating physicians include Dr. Juan M. Padilla,
Dr. Miguel Cintron, Dr. Wayne Green, Dr. Manuel G. Espinoza, Dr. Donald Vargas,
Dr. Daniel Martinez, Dr. Jose Carrera, Dr. Lonnie Stanton, Dr. Jorge Miranda,
Dr. Jose Peņa, Dr. Tan Nguyen, Dr. Fernando Garcia, and Dr. Gustavo Ramos.
"This is a group that is experienced in working with the Haitian people,
as they have been going to Haiti to do what they can to treat extremely needy
people living in very difficult conditions -- even before the disastrous earthquake,"
Dr. Cintron said. "They care deeply about the people there and will go on this
emergency trip representing the people of the Valley who have expressed such concern
for the earthquake victims."
Dr. Souffrant, who left Haiti as a teenager
to come to the United States , said that he still hasn't heard from some of his
uncles, aunts, cousins, and nephews who lived in Port-au-Prince , near the worst
part of the earthquake.
"When I first heard the news about the earthquake,
it was a shock to me and my family," Dr. Souffrant said. "It's almost surreal,
like you were watching a movie. When you realize it is reality, you feel powerless.
But then you realize it - there are some things you can do to help."
Valley
residents can do their part to help make the Valley relief effort a success by
donating online at a new web site that is scheduled to go up by Tuesday, www.rgvhelpshaiti.com,
where credit card donations will be accepted. Residents can also donate in person
(by cash or check) at five Valley medical facilities which will set up "drive-through"
donation locations this Saturday (Jan. 23) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.: - HARLINGEN
- Su Clinica Familiar, 1706 Treasure Hills Boulevard and at the Valley Endo Center
, 3103 S. 77 Sunshine Strip in Harlingen
- BROWNSVILLE - Valley
Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville, 1040 W. Jefferson Street (at Central Blvd.
) and Valley Regional Medical Center, 100-A Alton Gloor Blvd.
- McALLEN
/ EDINBURG AREA - Doctors Hospital at Renaissance, 300 Lindberg Avenue, McAllen
- WESLACO / MID-VALLEY AREA - Knapp Medical Center (circular driveway
by the Conference Center ), 1401 East 8th Street , Weslaco
Other
Valley medical centers helping in the relief effort include Valley Baptist Medical
Center-Harlingen and Harlingen Medical Center .
Valley residents can
also mail checks (which should be made payable to "Haiti Committee Ministry")
to Haiti Committee Ministry, c/o Alliance Christian Church, 844 S. Virginia Ave
, Mercedes , TX 78570 . Donations are tax deductible for those who itemize on
their tax returns.
"We are very grateful for any donations that Valley
residents -- including the many health care workers which form such a vital part
of our communities -- can give to support this critical relief operation," Dr.
Cintron said. "Because of the current situation in Haiti , it will be very challenging
and expensive to fly our teams there and equip them -- costing up to $45,000 for
a team of 20 medical people, and with five waves of teams going, the total cost
will be over $200,000. In spite of those obstacles we are determined to do what
we can to help these people in their time of greatest need."
In addition
to monetary donations, the team is calling on Valley medical facilities to consider
donating much-needed medical supplies, including mosquito repellant, mosquito
nets for sleeping, portable X-ray machines, sonogram machines, IV fluids, operating
room monitors, and electrocautery instruments.
"We also are still looking
for volunteer nurses and technicians who are willing to go to Haiti to support
this effort," Dr. Cintron said. "We especially need orthopedic nurses, general
surgery nurses, cardiology nurses and OB/GYN nurses."
For more information
related to the doctors who will traveling to Haiti , contact Luz Cintron of Valley
Baptist Home Health at (956) 357-4253. For information on the locations where
donations can be made, contact Gloria Gonzalez of Alliance Church at (956) 565-1579
or by e-mail at hopeinternationalmm@gmail.com.
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