Dr. McGeorge Delivers Medical Care to Haitians
Wednesday, March 3, 2010WDIV Good Health Reporter Dr. Frank McGeorge went to Haiti shortly after the earthquake to provide medical care and humanitarian aid to people, as well as news reports for Channel 4.
On his first morning, Dr. McGeorge began setting up his medical supplies at 6 a.m. in a standing structure, and word spread quickly throughout the neighborhood. Soon, the “walking wounded” as he calls them, were lined up to be treated for such things as fractures and sprains.
Because Dr. McGeorge arrived after the first week following the earthquake, the people with horrible crash injuries had either already received medical treatment or were currently aboard the USNS Comfort receiving medical care.
When he wasn’t providing medical care, Dr. McGeorge witnessed – and videotaped with the help of a cameraman – the vast devastation in Haiti.
“While we clearly have our problems here in America, the human tragedy that I witnessed in Haiti is so far beyond anything I’d ever witnessed,” Dr. McGeorge told WDIV viewers. “We are all on the same little planet. Be thankful for the life that you’re blessed with. Help anyone who’s less fortunate whenever you can.”
While witnessing and videotaping the destruction with his cameraman, Dr. McGeorge noticed a huge need for food, shelter and water, the basic humanitarian provisions that the Red Cross has been providing to the Haitian people.
He noted that shelter is an especially huge problem, because the makeshift homes made from sticks and blankets and tied with a string would never stand up to the coming winds and rain, and provide very little privacy, which is a basic human need.
He said the tents and cooking supplies that the American Red Cross began delivering will be a tremendous help. Until the Haitians can redevelop their agricultural base, they need food from the Red Cross and other organizations.
Though he saw a lot of devastation, he also saw things that lifted him up, such as a lot of help coming in from the U.S. and all over the world, which he said was “incredibly awe-inspiring.”
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