Almost 3 Months after Devastating Earthquake, Operation Smile Continues to Help the Victims of Haiti with More Medical Personnel, 20 Tons of Supplies

An Operation Smile team of medical volunteers, consisting of five nurses and one orthopedic surgeon, arrived this past week in Haiti to relieve the six-person medical team currently on the ground in Fond Parisien, Haiti. Operation Smile, Inc. also sent another 40,000 pounds of medical supplies to Haiti. Operation Smile’s shipment of much-needed supplies included pharmaceuticals, as well as medical and surgical equipment such as oxygen tanks, IV fluids, sutures, and crutches. The disaster in Haiti was the first time Operation Smile provided emergency relief.

More than 2½ months after the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti on January 12, Operation Smile is still responding to the continued need for critical medical and surgical care for the victims. From wound care, fighting off dangerous infection threatening life and limb, to the assessment and correction of complex fractures, the medical volunteers are still addressing the progression of injuries. They now are providing post-operative care and general nursing support.

Operation Smile is well-known for its 28-year history of providing cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries in developing countries, but is not traditionally a disaster response organization. However, with over 4,000 Operation Smile credentialed medical volunteers and a presence in over 50 countries, the organization has immediate access to trained surgical and medical professionals who have experience working in difficult environments. In addition, the Operation Smile logistics team is skilled in deploying and organizing highly-functional field hospitals in developing countries across the globe.

Since January 25, Operation Smile has deployed 11 teams – over 100 medical volunteers – to Haiti to provide life-saving and limb-saving care for the victims of this massive disaster. In total, 51,275 pounds of supplies in 293 containers was sent to Haiti after Operation Smile received over $1 million worth of donated supplies. Another surgical team is being sent from April 10-21 to review and address injuries. After the earthquake, the sudden need for immediate orthopedic trauma surgery was massive, and the medical infrastructure was shattered. Over the last few months, Operation Smile medical volunteers performed critical surgeries in Fond Parisien and Hinche, as well as aboard the USNS Comfort.

For updates on Operation Smile’s efforts in Haiti, visit the daily blog on www.operationsmile.org/haiti, follow @operationsmile on Twitter, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/operationsmile. To make a $5 donation to Operation Smile in support of Haiti relief, you can text SMILE to 90999.

In February, Harrison Ford – an Operation Smile supporter, legendary actor and humanitarian – piloted his Cessna 208 Caravan to command a remarkable airlift of Operation Smile medical volunteers and supplies into Hinche, Haiti. Mr. Ford volunteered in response to an urgent request from Operation Smile for logistical support to send additional medical teams and medical supplies to Haiti. Demonstrating extraordinary dedication, Operation Smile and its medical volunteers are committed to continue helping the people of Haiti to recover.

About Operation Smile (www.operationsmile.org)
Founded in 1982 by Dr. Bill and Kathy Magee, Operation Smile, headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, is a worldwide children’s medical charity whose network of global volunteers are dedicated to helping improve the health and lives of children and young adults. Since its founding, Operation Smile has treated more than 145,000 children born with cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities and the organization has a presence in more than 50 countries. In addition to contributing free medical treatment, Operation Smile trains local medical professionals in its partner countries and leaves behind crucial equipment to lay the groundwork for long-term self-sufficiency.