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Air Mobility Command provides shelter, medical care to Haitian evacuees

  • Published
  • By Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  Air Mobility Command delivered much needed relief supplies including shelter and immediate medical care to hundreds flown into Haiti this weekend as the command continues to transport support personnel and life-saving supplies into the earthquake-ravaged country.

A C-32 carrying 22 earthquake survivors landed at Joint Base Andrews just after midnight Jan. 17 and received immediate medical attention for flu symptoms, fatigue and any other medical concerns.

"I feel like Andrews is full of nice people," said Myrlene Desir, a returning survivor who was born in Haiti and came to the United States in 1984. "Everyone here is very helpful." Ms. Desir visits family in Haiti and now lives in Waterbridge, Conn.

The repatriated U.S. citizens arrived at the passenger terminal with Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, who returned from Haiti after pledging U.S. support toward the relief effort to Haitian President Rene Preval.

For people like Ms. Desir, the trauma of the catastrophe that shook the Haiti region was eased when U.S. assistance took hold.

"The moment I stepped inside the embassy knew I was going to be okay," said Ms. Desir.

One of the three children Ms. Desir was traveling with, her 8-year-old niece, Isabel, received medical attention for flu-like symptoms.

"She had a cough, fever, chills and felt nauseous earlier today," said Lt. Col. Steve Irvin, 779th Aeromedical Staging Facility medical director. "I felt so sad for the survivors and really wanted to help them. "[Isabel] reminded me of my own kid. You just try to take care of everybody as if they're your own."

Another flight carrying 44 evacuees arrived at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey late Saturday in a continuing effort to assist U.S. citizens in Haiti after the country was devastated by a 7.0-maginitude earthquake Tuesday.

To date, the joint base has processed more than 575 evacuees, and of those, more than 540 have been out processed back to homes and families throughout the United States.

Many evacuees shared stories of their experiences during and after the earthquake while processing at the terminal. One woman described the sleepless nights spent in their backyard for fear the house would collapse during one of the aftershocks. The worst, she said, was the first night after the earthquake, when the air was filled with the cries of those who had lost loved ones or who were injured.

Evacuees needing urgent medical attention were taken by ambulance to the emergency room off-base while the rest were taken to the McGuire Fitness Center.

There, base personnel, support organizations and volunteers had set up a temporary shelter where evacuees could rest, eat and shower while they made arrangements for transportation to their homes or to stay with family and friends in the U.S.

"It's horrible to know there are so many other families who are displaced and hurt and who have had to go through the devastation of the earthquake," said Capt. Jennifer Williams, a McGuire Civil Air Patrol Composite Squadron member whose husband and two children also volunteered to help at the center. "It brings us pleasure just to be able to support them, and it's wonderful to be able to do it as a family."

The reception center at JB MDL was the only center in the U.S. until Saturday, when additional centers were set up at Orlando International Airport and Pope Air Force Base, N.C. The center can handle approximately 300 people at a time. Volunteers and State Department personnel have been able to assist evacuees with travel arrangements within 24 hours of their arrival to the base.

Televisions and toys are entertaining the evacuated children while the Red Cross, Salvation Army and others have provided winter clothes and other required items.

Other services at the center include interpreters for those who don't speak English, three meals a day, phones and computers for evacuees to contact their families and make travel arrangements. A bus schedule is also set up to take them to the Philadelphia and Newark airports.

Medical personnel are also on hand to treat minor injuries and illnesses, check blood sugar levels and provide prescription medicines to those who may not have been able to bring their medications with them. Though a few patients were taken to the emergency room for broken bones or other injuries incurred from fallen debris, most were treated for minor cuts or cold and flu symptoms.

In addition to the evacuee support, four injured civilians from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, were airlifted to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in a C-130 Hercules early today.

The patients suffered injuries ranging from crushed limbs to broken bones, according to officials. Doctors on the ground in Haiti made the request for military airlift after determining the patients' needs would be best met by medical care in the U.S.

Mission planning was accomplished by the 618th Tanker Airlift Control Center at Scott AFB, Ill., the lead agency for worldwide military airlift, air refueling and aeromedical evacuation operations. 618th TACC officials plan and task global air mobility missions, and then provide command-and-control for the missions from the TACC's 24-7 operations floor.

"Time is always critical, so there's a delicate balance of being fast and being thorough when we're putting these missions together. We have to be sure to send the right people, with the right training and equipment to care for the patients while in the air," said Master Sgt. John LaCroix, manager of the 618th TACC's Aeromedical Evacuation Division.

Aeromedical evacuation plays a critical role in global military operations daily, including in current operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2009, AMC aircrews and aeromedical evacuation crews flew 19,025 patient movements worldwide, averaging out to more than 52 patient movements per day.

"Our teams will do anything we can to save lives, which is exactly why we have aeromedical evacuation professionals on our operations floor 24/7," said Lt. Col. Duncan Smith, chief of the 618th Tanker Airlift Control Center's aeromedical evacuation branch. "Business for us is getting patients to the care they need, no matter what. In some cases, it means we get to help save lives; and you can't beat that feeling."

Since Jan. 13 when the command was first called upon to help in Haiti, AMC Airmen have completed nearly 100 aircraft sorties; transported nearly 1,200 passengers and flown more than 600 short tons of emergency cargo to the devastated country.