Supplies from Iowa headed for hospital in Haiti

CORALVILLE - When Charlie Hamilton hits the road this afternoon with his semi-trailer truck, he'll be hauling more than bandages, gauze, and medicine.

He'll be hauling relief, health, and hope for tens of thousands in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, who've lost all three.

Hamilton, a 55-year-old Teamster from Des Moines will be taking the semi donated by Kirkwood Community College on a 28-hour trip to Miami. From there, the supplies donated by individuals and area health organizations will head for Haiti on Tuesday.

“I don't care who you are, your heart has to go out to these people,” Hamilton said. “Twenty-eight hours isn't so bad. I'm happy to help.”

Once they reach Haiti, the supplies will meet up with Dr. Chris Buresh in the Leogane region near Port-au-Prince, where Buresh will put them to work in answering the catastrophic call for medical attention.

Buresh, a professor of medicine at the University of Iowa, is no stranger to Haiti. The doctor has been working with Haitians for seven years, and came back home to Coralville to resupply after a nine-day stint working with victims of the January earthquake.

When he gets back to Haiti, he will have a semi-permanent hospital with 50 beds and a sterile operation room.

“We'll be averaging 350 patients a day and 20 operations once we get things started,” Buresh said. “They've lost any organized medical system, but the Haitians are tough folks, and with real facilities and supplies they can heal much better.”

Buresh said the state of the recovery is chilling. With the capital city's infrastructure in ruins, he worries about outbreaks of diarrhea, malaria, cholera, measles and even tuberculosis, but his spirit isn't dampened by the daunting task at hand.

“What's happened there is horrible,” Buresh said. “But if we didn't try and do something right, try to help while we could, that'd be the real tragedy.”

And for a while, Buresh worried that tragedy was a reality. Buresh and others had been pooling medical supplies, as well as clothing and food, with no idea how soon or by what means they'd be able to move them into Haiti. But with the help of Gov. Chet Culver's office, as well as the Clinton Foundation, there's a spot on a boat for the supplies and an avenue to put Buresh's skills as a healer to greater use.

“There's a lot of red tape in getting aid there, and it's not clear cut either,” said Doug Buchan, 22, a UI senior who has been helping inventory all of the supplies before they're shipped.

He'll be going to Haiti in a few days to help unpack and organize the new field hospital.

“There were so many uncertainties of how we'd get it there. But the Governor's Office stepped in and offered to help us,” Buchan said.

Buchan looks forward to reaching Haiti. He sees it as an opportunity and a gift.

“It's stressful, but it's a rewarding stress,” Buchan said. “You can see what you're doing, and see you're working to an end to help others ... it's what makes all of this worthwhile.”