Disaster Relief Mission for the Haitian Elderly
On March 18, 2010, I embarked on a mission to Haiti with my boss at Rush University Senior Care, Martin Gorbien, MD, to work with an organization called HelpAge International. To date, this is the only non-governmental organization (NGO) in Haiti working on behalf of the older population affected by the earthquake. In addition, Dr. Gorbien and I were the first two geriatric specialists to volunteer with HelpAge, so we were truly starting from the beginning in terms of relief efforts.
When we arrived in Haiti and entered Port Au Prince, I was immediately struck by the indescribable damage everywhere. But more than that, I was amazed at how people were continuing to live their lives, trying to make a living amongst the devastation and destruction. This was my first insight into the resilience and perseverance of the Haitian people.
Asile Communal
We began our work at the Asile Communal (which means “community asylum” in Creole). This is the municipal nursing home in Port Au Prince, whose structure was destroyed by the quake. Consequently, patients were relocated to the outside area in front of the old building, on cots and in tents. Nursing home residents are interspersed with other displaced persons, who are living on this property as one of the many “tent cities” around Port Au Prince. One can only imagine the chaos that has ensued with this mix of populations.
Red Tape Frustrations
When we arrived to this site, we immediately encountered red-tape with the administration of Asile Communal. In fact, throughout our time in Haiti, we experienced many instances of possessiveness and power-struggles amongst the local government officials and relief organizations.
Everyone is malnourished and dehydrated, and the worst part is that there is plenty of food and water in Haiti right now, but everything is so disorganized that it’s not being distributed properly. When supplies are being distributed, the elderly are at a significant disadvantage as they have a harder time getting to lines or standing in lines and waiting, as well as being more vulnerable to having their rations stolen. Even for healthy individuals, the conditions in Haiti are truly deplorable. As noted by Anderson Cooper of CNN, they are nearly unbearable for the frail elderly.
Much Needed Care Delivered
We were finally able to set up a little clinic with a table, some chairs and our supplies (medicine and first aid supplies which we brought from the States). By word-of-mouth, the older residents came over to get a check-up. We had created an intake form with basic social and medical information so that we could not only assess each patient in an orderly fashion, but also gain useful census information for HelpAge’s initiative of relocating the residents to safer and more supportive living environments.
During that first day of clinic, we saw approximately 25 patients, and returned two days later to see the remaining 30 older residents. Most of the maladies in the older patients we encountered were hypertension, pain, and intestinal issues. We saw a considerable amount of patients with low-vision or complete blindness, and many with dementia. A lot of the patients complained of “all-over pain”, likely due to somatization of the trauma they’ve experienced. In general, it seemed that patients were dealing with stress-related or pre-existing conditions exacerbated by stress.
Many of them chose to sleep in tents, even if a building was available to them, because they’re so frightened of being in a building that might collapse on them. Older residents stated that they could not sleep at night because of young people staying up all night, making noise and trouble. People were in a constant state of hyper-vigilance. Unfortunately, HelpAge is still working on securing a safe environment to transfer many of these patients to; however, there is red tape at every turn. So while we were there, the work was mainly about addressing the older adults’ needs in the setting they were in, and making sure their care providers were better equipped to care for them.
Other Locations
When we weren’t at Asile Communal, we spent time visiting other sites, such as local hospitals and tent-cities, to evaluate the older residents/patients who were in need of geriatric medical care. In sum, we saw a total of approximately 150 patients in the 10 days that we were there.
We also had the opportunity to visit alternative senior living environments, such as a home that someone turned into a long-term assisted living environment. We visited a rural nursing home run by nuns, for elderly as well as mentally and physically disabled persons, on a beautiful piece of land surrounded by mango trees.
Finally we visited the “crème de la crème” of senior living in Port Au Prince. This was a beautiful retirement/nursing home for the more affluent elderly in Haiti. In American dollars, the cost was between $1,000-1,600/month – far below what is standard in the States. Nonetheless, the level of care was truly outstanding. Being able to see these various environments was quite enlightening for us. We saw the most deplorable conditions to truly the best, and everything in between.
Lessons Learned
In just 10 days, I learned a lot about Haiti; it’s colorful culture, tumultuous and traumatic history, and the incredible people who’ve overcome more than most people have in a lifetime. The older Haitians are truly a strong group of individuals who contribute much to their society. They are often the backbone of the family system, caring for grandchildren while their children are working, or in many instances, that middle generation has disappeared completely, for reasons such as HIV. They also continue to work, often in the outside street markets, likely much longer than older Americans work, thusly contributing on an economic level as well.
Despite these strengths, there is very little infrastructure to support the older Haitians. HelpAge International is planning to be in Haiti for 3-5 years, and will be working on creating sustainable programs and supportive services for just that reason. In my short time there, I was able to lend my knowledge of older adult programs here in the States, to help guide their work out there.
Seek Volunteer Opportunities
While I was only able to see a small fraction of the many elderly who need psychosocial support and medical care, I am so grateful for the experience and have obtained a first-hand look at life for an older person in a third world country, while amidst a humanitarian crisis. I strongly encourage anyone who is interested in this type of work to look into volunteer programs, both in Haiti and around the world. Working internationally with older populations can only serve to enhance our knowledge and understanding of older adults in general. The cultural aspects vary widely, but I think we’ll find that on a basic, fundamental level, they all need and desire the same essentials in life.
Ways to donate:
Photos from Relief Mission
This post was written by:
Lauren Kessler - who has written 1 posts on Chicago Bridge.
Lauren Kessler is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, currently practicing as part of the interdisciplinary team of Rush University Senior Care. Ms. Kessler received her B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Human Development and Family Studies from Indiana University in Bloomington, and her Masters in Social Work with a health concentration, from Loyola University in Chicago. In her position with Rush University Senior Care, she provides clinical case management services to a wide variety of patients with diverse cultural, economic, and social backgrounds. Through her experience coordinating clinical services, she has gained extensive knowledge of how illness impacts families and individuals. In her 3 years as a geriatric social worker for Rush Senior Care, Ms. Kessler has developed expertise in providing patient- centered services through clinical coordination of care, advocacy, education and collaboration amongst community partners.
