NSUCO - The Visionary Fall 2010

the VISIONARY • Summer/Fall 2010 17 Haitian heritage. He had participated in a previous humanitarian mission to Haiti and three to Jamaica through the National Opto- metric Student Association, where he served as student president and student team coordinator. Dr. Blanc also has assisted the AOA/FOA HEHP Glaucoma Awareness Campaign for Caribbean- Americans in South Florida and is active in community outreach. Toussaint, who was born and raised in Haiti, works for The Eye Care Institute at NSU as a low vision assistant and has a master’s degree in psychology. Sadly, she lost family members in the earth- quake due to horrific circumstances. Fluent in English, French, and Creole, and intimately familiar with Port-au-Prince, her serv- ice would prove to be invaluable. Broward Optometrists Contribute to a Monumental Task With such incredibly short notice and with a three-day college- wide donation drive, gathering enough pharmaceuticals, supplies, and equipment for Dr. Blanc to provide quality urgent care was a monumental task. Unfortunately, ready-made spectacles could not be obtained in time, although refractive services and materi- als were an identified need. A call to the local Broward County Optometric Society members yielded donations of topical antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, oc- ular lubricants, and supplies augmenting that which was supplied by NSU’s The Eye Care Institute clinic inventory and monetary donations from students, as well as staff and faculty members. The response from the NSU and Broward optometric physicians was absolutely inspirational. Providing on-the-Spot Care to the Fullest Dr. Blanc and Toussaint were deployed to Haiti on February 22 and returned safely on March 1. They joined a larger health care relief team through the University of Miami Project Medishare program, which traveled on a chartered flight through Vision Air- lines. According to Dr. Blanc and Toussaint, even though the flight to Haiti is just two hours away, the day of the deployment to Haiti was a long one. Shortly before reaching Haiti, an aftershock shook the grounds of the Port-au-Prince airport and a power outage cut “The human impact is immense.”