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Latest News For You | For Agency Professionals
Download a PDF Version of the NJ 2-1-1 Relief and Recovery Assistance Guide
Volunteers Experienced in Disaster Relief
Doctors Needed for Relief and Recovery Efforts
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is requesting physicians of specific specialties to deploy with the National Disaster Medical Assistance teams to Haiti. The need is for trauma surgeons, orthopedists, anesthesiologists, and others with experience in treating crush injuries. Volunteers must be able to serve for at least 2 weeks, and be willing to live and work in spartan conditions.
Preference will be given to physicians who know how to speak Creole or French, and to those currently credentialed through the Medical Reserve Corps in their home state, or the ESAR-VHP program (Emergency Services Advanced Registration of Volunteer Health Personnel).
These volunteers will need to be credentialed as temporary federal employees and will need to be able to provide credentialing paperwork as soon as asked. Credentialing normally takes about a week. Volunteers with these clinical skills should contact Michala Koch at Michala.Koch@hhs.gov. Not everyone who wishes to help will necessarily be deployed, and those without the requisite skills may not receive a direct response.
For medical professionals wishing to help in this way in future relief efforts, please take a few minutes to learn about the Medical Reserve Corps, identify your local unit, and register to become part of the corps. To do so, visit the Medical Reserve Corps Web site. This is the channel through which medical volunteers are deployed immediately following an event, and only those registered beforehand are likely to be deployed as soon as response efforts are underway.
Register Services/Goods You Wish to Donate
USAID, the U.S. Agency for International Development, has created a Web site to direct those interested in supporting the response and recovery operation. The site provides three portals:
- a portal for you to give a monetary donation which will be directed to the Clinton-Bush Foundation
- a portal for you to register an in-kind donation of goods, which is viewable by non-government organizations (NGOs) that may have a need for such goods
- a portal that allows unaffiliated/spontaneous volunteers interested in volunteering to register their interest
NGOs will have access to the volunteer portal to match their needs with the registered individuals in the system. It is important to note that NGOs are reporting that their capacity to absorb additional volunteers is limited and as a result, individuals' generous offers to support relief and recovery efforts are greatly appreciated however may go unneeded.
To learn about the organization's relief efforts in Chile, click here.
The Center for International Disaster Information has created a database where you can register your willingness to donate particular goods or services. The information that you provide will be passed along to established relief organizations if they are in need of the service or goods you are offering. Register here.
Things You Should Know Before You Travel
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted a page to their Web site providing detailed guidance for those who are intending to join the ranks of relief workers in Haiti. It includes information about the vaccines you will need, insect-borne and infectious diseases that are common in the area; and a detailed description of what you must bring with you as well as information on how to protect your health while you are in the country and upon returning home. You may access it here.
Hesperian Publications Offers Translated Medical Guides
Hesperian is a non-profit publisher of books and newsletters for community-based health care. Simply written and heavily illustrated, Hesperian books are designed so that people with little formal education can understand, apply and share health information. Developed collaboratively with health workers and community members from around the world, Hesperian books and newsletters address the underlying social, political, and economic causes of poor health and suggest ways groups can organize to improve health conditions in their communities.
In response to the earthquake in Haiti, Hesperian has launched a Haitian Kreyòl Health Resources site, which includes downloads of Hesperian materials along with a Health For All Medical Glossary in Kreyòl, French, Spanish and English. In the weeks and months to come, the group will continue to collect Kreyòl adaptations (posters, flyers, booklets, etc.) of their materials and other key resources for Haiti, pulling together a repository of the best health information available.
Need Help? – Dial 2-1-1
You are encouraged to dial “2-1-1” 24 hours a day, seven days a week if you need help in understanding and finding available assistance services. Language translation and TTY services are offered to any caller. You can also search our database for services in your local community or Chat Live with an experienced community resource specialist. 2-1-1 will help identify with you the best local resources to fit your individual needs during times of distress or for life’s everyday situations.
If you know of additional resources that would be appropriate to include in this section, please let us know by contacting us via e-mail at info@nj211.org.
Sources include:
http://www.medicalreservecorps.gov
http://dex.cidi.org/
http://www.us.tzuchi.org
http://www.usaid.gov/haiti/
http://www.hesperian.org/index.php
Page last modified on 3.30.10
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