National Nurses United

Haiti_FNL 2/25/10 3:54 PM Page 29 tains of medical supplies. The quake had taken out first overseas deployment to an operating room. The Betty Sparks, RN the air traffic control tower, and planes were landtent was a far cry from the gleaming, high-tech sethelped perform ing under a primitive system of first-come, firstting of Newton-Wellesley Hospital, where Sparks surgeries in a tent served, Bowers said. works. Sparks sterilized her own instruments by on the grounds of a The team met with staff from a local hospital and soaking them in Cidex solution for 20 minutes, then former HIV clinic in evaluated the patient there on the runway. They rinsing them in water. Port au Prince. were accustomed to moving quickly in unpredictable The daily routine was broken by the occasional circumstances. At home, "one day you might be treat: embassy workers bearing frozen Gatorade, and going to the scene of a car crash to provide care to someone and the visits from former President Bill Clinton and actor Sean Penn. Penn next day you're going to save a sick baby at a hospital," said Bowers. brought an X-ray machine and pediatric ventilator. "He was grubby and dirty and carrying things in here like he was one of the workers," "You really don't know what you're going to get, and you have to be ready to go." said Sparks. But here there were a few surprises. "We asked the hospital staff Though she's no stranger to disasters, Sparks knows her experience in Haiti will affect her. "Every time I come back, my friends and did they get any lab values, and they said no, we don't have a lab," Bowers said. "Blood sugar levels, potassium—all those things that you coworkers tell me that I've changed," she says. "It definitely humbles take for granted when you transfer a patient, we didn't have that." you. Being an OR nurse you tend to be kind of anal. You lose a little Bowers' team determined that the patient was stable enough to bit of that here, because you have no choice." allow them to transport another patient at the same time. As Haitian medical workers rushed back to their hospital to pick up somehen wilson bowers, rn, joined the survival one else, Bowers and his colleagues rooted through their supplies to flight team at the University of Michigan, he never see what they could share with their Haitian colleagues. They had imagined he'd one day be flying an emergency already brought antibiotics to donate, along with peanut butter and mission to Haiti. Bowers and the doctors and baby food. But they wanted to give more. pilots he works with use helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft to "We had planned for any eventuality, so we were fully stocked transport critically injured patients from Michigan's remote backwith IV solutions, a full pharmacy, splints and trauma supplies," said woods to the university's hospital. Bowers. Everything they didn't think they would need on the way "You go up to northern Michigan and you have chest pains and it back, the team turned over before taking off for the seven-hour might take an hour for an ambulance to get to you," said Bowers, flight home. also a trained paramedic. With no major medical facilities nearby, a Bowers said the Haitian patients were successfully transported to helicopter flight is often the fastest route to care. The team also picks up children from around the country who need the university's the university, and he and his team have checked in on them several times since they arrived. expertise in pediatric cardiology. For Bowers, making personal connections with patients and their On day eight after the earthquake, officials with the Federal families in the midst of a crisis is one of the most rewarding parts of Emergency Management Agency contacted the university about a his job. "When a hospital says to a family, we don't have anything Haitian patient whose condition required transport to a U.S. hospimore to offer, we've called an outside medical crew, we represent the tal. Though he'd never traveled outside the U.S. and Canada, Bowlast ray of hope for that family," he said. "If you have a very sick ers, who had the day off, volunteered for the flight. patient and you can save their life, you share in their gratitude and As the plane descended towards Port au Prince airport, Bowers saw blocks and blocks of "sheer rubble," interrupted by the occasion- it's an emotional experience for everybody. That's what makes it all worthwhile." al concrete block, tin-roofed house that was still standing. Of his journey to Haiti, Bowers says: "It's the type of experience "The TV cameras aren't able to show you the big picture, so it's you never forget. If they call us to go again, we'll be there." only when you actually get there that you realize how catastrophic it is," he said. Dozens of helicopters clustered on the tarmac next to mounGerard Brogan, RN reported from Port au Prince and Felicia Mello from Oakland. W JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2010 W W W. N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N AT I O N A L N U R S E 29

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