NSUCO - The Visionary Fall 2010

Catastrophic Disaster On January 12, 2010, shortly before 5:00 p.m., an earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale rattled Haiti for 35 seconds. It was the most powerful earthquake to hit the country in 200 years and struck the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, as well as the towns of Léogâne, Jacmel, and Petit-Goâve. The country’s capital of Port-au-Prince suffered catastrophic damage, and 80 percent of the town of Léogâne was destroyed. The earthquake created a tragic situation of extreme vulnerabil- ity for the Haitian people. Haiti is considered to be the least de- veloped country in the Western Hemisphere, and the disaster struck the country’s most populated area as well as its economic and administrative center. According to the Ministry of Health, it is a tremendous setback because for the last three years, Haiti has experienced stability in terms of society, politics, security, eco- nomic growth, and a remarkable improvement in living condi- tions. Nonetheless, it is the resilience and tenacity of the Haitian people that will bring recovery and reconstruction with interna- tional support. Striking at the Very Heart The human impact is immense. Roughly 1.5 million people (15 percent of the national population) were directly affected. Ac- cording to the national authorities, more than 300,000 died and as many were injured. About 1.3 million people are living in tem- porary shelters in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, and over 600,000 people have left the affected areas to seek shelter else- where in the country. In addition, existing problems in providing access to food and basic services have been exacerbated. By strik- ing at the very heart of the Haitian economy and administration, the earthquake has had a severe affect on human and institutional capacities, both the public and the private sectors, as well as some international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Colossal Destruction The destruction of infrastructure is colossal. The country’s main port cannot be used. The Presidential Palace, Parliament, law courts, and most ministerial and public administration buildings have been destroyed. About 105,000 homes were totally deci- mated and over 208,000 were damaged. More than 1,300 edu- cational institutions and more than 50 hospitals and health centers have collapsed or are unusable. This includes the St. Vin- cent School for the Blind and the building that houses the Haitian Society for the Blind. In addition, 19 ophthalmology clinics were severely damaged or destroyed. The nation’s university hospital, HUEH, which was the training center for health care providers for the entire country, was se- verely damaged and the School of Nursing was completely de- stroyed. The ophthalmology department, which trains three residents per year, suffered tremendous damage. Interestingly, there is no recognition of the optometry profession in Haiti; how- ever, there are several optometrists serving as humanitarian mis- sionaries and several short-term missions occurring in Haiti, including a VOSH team from Ohio that was conducting a field eye care clinic when the earthquake hit. NSU Hears the Call Aside from the immediate response of collecting money, food, water, and other needed items, an ad hoc task force of the NSU Health Professions Division, led by Dr. Leonard Levy of the NSU College of Osteopathic Medicine Center for Bioterrorism and All- Hazards Preparedness (CBAP), mobilized a response. On January 15, NSU’s College of Optometry, represented by Dr. Janet Leasher, participated with this ad hoc task force in creating an inventory of licensed health professional personnel willing and able to respond to the earthquake crisis in Haiti as part of a call to NSU from the Council of Florida Medical School Deans and the Region VII Health/Medical Southeast Domestic Security Task Force. NSU licensed health professions employees were asked to be- come part of emergency response teams and recovery teams if ready and able to put their personal safety and health at risk at a moment’s notice. Through the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine’s Project Medishare program, volunteers would be working at a 300-bed tent hospital in the United Nations com- pound at the airport and serve other needs as directed on the ground. In particular, the call targeted those who speak Haitian Creole and/or French. The very night before the earthquake struck Haiti, Dr. Ryan Price, an optometric Christian missionary (http://www.christianville - haiti.org) spoke to the optometry student club, Fellowship for Christian Optometrists (FCO), about the situation there. Little did he know that as he flew back to Haiti with his immediate family, a massive earthquake interrupted what he was working to im- prove. Many FCO members rallied to support his efforts. There was discussion of a student-led humanitarian mission, but the risks were felt to be too great for students without disaster expe- rience to travel—especially with the state department advising against it―so the mission has been postponed indefinitely. The National Optometry Student Association, which represents underrepresented minorities in the profession of optometry and whose mission is to serve those populations that are un- derserved in our community, leapt to action, assisting in the collection and sorting of donations for Haiti relief for the Health Professions Division. South Florida’s Rich Haitian-American Heritage South Florida has a strong Haitian-American community (as Miami is believed to have the highest percentage of Haitian immigrants in the country), many of whom are patients, students, and/or em- ployees at NSU. Haiti is roughly 800 miles south of Fort Lauderdale where NSU’s main campus is centered. The university has re- sponded to our neighbors in this time of need through a variety of outreach, donations, and personal support. College of Optometry Answers Two remarkable individuals answered the emergency call to vol- unteer their professional services in Haiti from the NSU College of Optometry: Smith Blanc, O.D., and Josie Toussaint, M.S. Dr. Blanc, a 2009 graduate of NSUCO and currently in the primary care/contact lens residency program at NSU, is Florida-born of