Haiti Earthquake--A Desperate Struggle at Hopital Sacre Coeur

During my week serving on a medical mission at Hopital Sacre Coeur in Milot, Haiti, I was inspired by the hard work, compassion and dedication of the Haitian and American physicians and nurses I got to know. And that was before the earthquake. Here's my story in the National Catholic Register about the first medical team to arrive at the hospital after the earthquake. As I report in this story, this small band of medical volunteers, with assistance from the hospital's Haitian staff, struggled mightily to meet the needs of a flood of earthquake victims, airlifted by helicopter from Port au Prince. The 74- bed facility is now serving 400 patients, with the assistance of a 90-member team of volunteers. This piece didn't talk about what local Haitians living near the hospital are doing to assist the earthquake victims. In fact, they have opened up their home--simple cinder block structures that would fit in many American living rooms, and taken in the relatives of patients who have no where to stay. Locals have also visited patients who don't have family members in the area, feeding, caringn for them and praying with them.