Consuelo H. Wilkins, M.D.
Most of us can only imagine the devastation felt by the people of Haiti after the recent earthquake. On January 12, the tragic 7.0 magnitude earthquake centered just 15 miles from Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, left more than 170,000 people dead and more than 1 million homeless. Given the degree of destruction in Haiti, medical care to injured Haitians has become a priority and has offered a rare opportunity for Americans to examine our health and medical care system from a different view point.
Of course, I am deeply saddened by the lives lost and those forever changed by the recent earthquake. However, I think it is always important to learn new lessons whenever possible.
Americans often take the health and medical services available to us for granted. In our country, we routinely order laboratory tests, x-rays, even MRI’s without thinking twice. These “necessities” of modern medicine can be very expensive, yet because they are readily available, physicians and other health professionals have become reliant on these tools to make diagnoses and plan treatments. Patients and consumers have also learned to expect to that certain tools be utilized even when they are not medically indicated.
To help provide care for those affected by the earthquake, hundreds of health professionals from around the world traveled to Haiti to volunteer. I personally know of six physicians who have traveled to Haiti to provide medical services. Their accounts as well as those reported by other health professionals volunteering in Haiti emphasize the drastic difference between caring for a relatively healthy patient in your modern office and caring for someone who is injured and traumatized with few resources in a temporary tent. All of a sudden you have to make a diagnosis of pneumonia by talking to the patient and using your stethoscope.
Making a diagnosis of pneumonia without an x-ray is generally not a challenge for most physicians; however, we have become so accustomed to ordering chest x-rays to confirm the diagnosis that we don’t hesitate to order the test. Suddenly, when an x-ray is not available you spend more time talking to the patient and doing a physical examination. Is that really a bad thing? Lesson #1: Doctors and other health professionals could benefit from talking to their patients and doing a thorough physical examination. Perhaps we could decrease health care costs by eliminating unneeded tests and maybe patients will be more likely to follow instructions and complete treatments if they spent enough time with the health care team to learn to trust them.
While no one can plan for a disaster such as this one, it is extremely important to have a disaster plan for you and your family. A disaster could affect any of us at any time and could be something that impacts a small number of people such as a home fire or it could affect millions such as a terror attack. Either way, having a disaster supply kit and an evacuation plan is important. It’s very important to have a first aid kit, a supply of prescription medications and water. In disasters that affect large numbers of people, it could be days before medical help is available so knowing basic first aid skill and CPR are important. To learn more about disaster preparedness or schedule classes for CPR or first aid, visit www.redcrossstl.org or call 314-516-2800. Lesson #2: Be prepared!
Because so many people were injured during the earthquake and medical care was significantly limited, many of the injured have had to go without medical care and hope for the best. During this time, simple kindness and love has been extended to those suffering by fellow Haitians (many of whom were also suffering) as well as volunteers. The effortless act of holding someone’s hand or offering them a sip of water can be enough to keep someone going. In our country, chronic medical conditions and disabilities are very common. Sometimes it seems that illness is so common that we don’t always stop to think about the person being affected by an illness. But the same simple acts of kindness can go a long way towards helping someone heal. Lesson #3: You don’t have to leave the country to be humanitarian.
If you haven’t already donated to relief for Haiti, please join me in doing so. Then hold a hand, make a phone call or send an email or text to someone that you know who could feel a little better.