SGMC Physician's Assistant Aids in Haiti Relief

Dozen of patients, waiting to be seen, would gather every morning outside the clinic.

Dan Ayers, a Physician's Assistant at SGMC's Occupational & Industrial Medicine Center and Primary Care Center, recently returned from a week-long medical mission trip to Haiti. Having traveled to Haiti six times before, Ayers desperately desired to help those affected by the recent earthquake.

According to the Reuters news agency, the death toll from the quake is estimated to reach 300,000, with over three million people affected.

Ayers was part of an eight member delegation sponsored by CrossPointe Church. The team left for Haiti on January 31^st, flying into Santo Domingo and then driving seven hours to Fonds Parisienne, a town approximately 20 miles from the epicenter of the quake.

Ayers and his team stayed in a church compound with accommodations including cold showers, sleeping outside on the balcony and one daily warm meal of rice and beans. Ayers saw countless refugees in this area, many of whom were sleeping on the compound grounds.

Ayers and his team were in the clinic for three days, treating an estimated 1,000 patients. Ages ranged from several weeks to 85 years. Common complaints were hypertension, stress headaches, stomach ulcers, arthritic complaints and respiratory infections. They also treated numerous ailments related to unsanitary living conditions, which included scabies, intestinal worms and skin infections.

Several return trips are being planned and although nurses and medical support staff have volunteered to return, there is still a tremendous need for primary care providers, pediatricians, surgeons, nurse midwives, dentists and eye doctors. The next trip is scheduled for March 13-20, 2010. If you are interested in being a part of a returning team, you can contact Pastor David Rogers at 229-242-7702.