OBI helps fund cholera isolation ward for Haiti hospital

Posted: November 18, 2010   By: Press Release

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - As the cholera outbreak escalates in Haiti, humanitarian organization Operation Blessing International (OBI) has partnered with St. Luc Hospital and St. Damien Pediatric Hospital to help fund a new isolation ward for the treatment of patients with the disease.

Bill Horan, president of OBI, said, “Fear is everywhere in Haiti right now. Cholera is often perceived as a death sentence. Cholera victims, because of the threat of the contagious disease, are not allowed to enter taxis, most clinics or hospitals in the country.

"The city morgue will not accept bodies because morgue workers are frightened that they will catch cholera from the corpses. People living in neighborhoods around the garbage dump are so frightened that cholera will come in with a load of garbage, that they stand in the streets blocking traffic and throwing stones to break the windshields of trucks that approach with loads of garbage. It’s like a modern day medieval plague.”

Horan met with the hospital staff three weeks ago when cholera was first reported in St. Marc.

“At the time, the threat of cholera was looming in Port-au-Prince and the hospital staff wanted to prepare for that by creating an isolation ward. The team at St. Damien and St. Luc had decided to turn an adjacent soccer field into an isolation ward, and Operation Blessing International did not hesitate to help toward the funding of this project.”

The new facility consists of a triage area, a hand washing station, five large tents with beds, a separated area for pediatric patients, an isolated latrine and laundry, and a disposal area for contaminated waste that is pumped into trucks for removal.

Says Horan, “Cholera victims, as well as many patients who think they might have cholera are welcomed by the staff of St Damien and St Luc’s each day. Treatment, which is free, includes antibiotics, injections to inhibit vomiting, hydration medications and intra-venous units of life-giving fluids.

To further assist the hospitals, OBI staff in Port-au-Prince has been running two chlorine generators around the clock in anticipation of an expanded outbreak. The generators produce 120 gallons of chlorine solution every 12 hours, which is packaged in 5-gallon plastic jugs for distribution. OBI teams have delivered hundreds of gallons of bleach to the hospitals and families all over the area for use in disinfecting their homes, laundry and drinking water.

In addition, OBI continues to operate 35 water filtration and chlorination units throughout the capital and in the areas to the north hardest hit by the outbreak. Each unit is capable of producing up to 10,000 gallons of clean water each day.

Horan adds, “An ominous aspect of this disease, unknown here for many decades, is that some of the bacteria will survive and flair up during rainy seasons for years to come. Earthquakes and hurricanes happen and cause extreme suffering, but eventually, there is an end to it. Cholera will likely add to Haiti's burden for a very long time."