November/December 2014 7

The great equalizerIn reaching out to help Haiti, members of Team Broken Earth discover they often heal themselvesBy Dawn Chafe and Cathi Stevenson

If you could travel back in time to January 11, 2010, you’d probably be amazed at how little you knew of

Haiti. If you thought of it at all, it was probably in relation to its proximity to popular sun spots in the neighbouring Dominican Republic.

That was on the 11th. Now fast forward 24 unforgettably tragic hours to January 12, 2010: the day a 7Mw earthquake ripped the impoverished country apart. More than 200,000 Haitians died instantly while life for millions of injured became a living nightmare.

The receding aftershocks were quickly followed by a tsunami of attention. Only two hours’ flight from Miami, global media assembled on the ground in the capital city and earthquake epicentre of Port-au-Prince almost immediately. Under the most regrettable of circumstances, Haiti was suddenly top of mind with people around the world.

Team Broken Earth Special Edition8

Get up to $50,000 in rebates and cut your operating costs every month. Better practice your pirouette, because the savings you get with the takeCHARGE Business Efficiency Program will have you dancing in the halls. One phone call connects you to an energy expert and significant savings—up to $50,000 in rebates, plus year-round savings on your electricity costs. Find out what custom energy solutions are right for your business today!

1-800-663-2802Newfoundland Power

1-888-737-1296 Newfoundland & Labrador Hydro

Save again and again and again and again.

Talk to an energy expert

about the BUSINESS EFFICIENCY PROGRAM

JAN FEB MAR

APR MAY JUN

JUL AUG SEP

OCT NOV DEC

Dr. Andrew Furey, associate professor of surgery with Eastern Health in St. John’s, N.L., recounts how the images of rubble and death were suddenly right there, in his own living room. “Watching the frank devastation of what was happening in Haiti, I knew there had to be at least two or three seriously injured people for every person who died. And I knew that the medical system there had to be in similar distress.”

He couldn’t be a passive observer for long. Within a few months, he and his wife Allison (an emergency room doctor), along with orthopedic resident Will Moores, made the trip to Haiti.

While it was rewarding to know they’d made a tangible difference, it was also dissatisfying. They felt they could have accomplished more.

“When we arrived, we were working with people we didn’t know, and it took a couple of days to get used to working with them. We felt it would have been more effi cient and effective if we had arrived with a group of professionals who were familiar with each other—a self-contained team who could hit the ground running.”

It’s that concept which ultimately led Dr. Furey, along with reconstructive surgeon Dr. Art Rideout and anesthesiologist Dr. Jeremy Pridham, to organize Team Broken Earth.

Though it started as a single team from Newfoundland and Labrador, this volunteer task force is now composed of physicians, nurses and physiotherapists from across Canada who are committed to delivering and improving healthcare in Haiti. They give in the most altruistic sense of the word, donating their vacation time and paying their own transportation costs so they can take part in each week-long mission.

Mentally, physically and metaphorically, these missions are a diffi cult journey.

Volunteers undergo months of extensive screening and preparation so they’ll know what to expect when they arrive. The hospital in Port-au-Prince, once a private residence, is a typical health care facility for a developing country: not enough medicine; shockingly high volumes of patients; outdated or non-existent equipment; no access to routine blood work; unreliable electricity. The visiting medical staff will sleep on bunk beds in dorm rooms, draped by mosquito netting. They’ll experience dehydration and dream of functioning bathroom facilities. They’ll have issues trying to communicate with local medical staff through interpreters. They’ll see armed guards at the gates of their work site, and watch mothers sleeping on the fl oor next to sick babies. They’ll encounter diseases that are almost unheard of

WWi-Ad-FullPage-BusinessNews.indd 1 2014-09-30 3:59 PM

Team Broken Earth Special Edition10

in North America and work to correct physical abnormalities that are routinely dealt with at a very young age in Canada. And they’ll smell the stench of poverty from the millions of people living in tent cities on less than a dollar a day.

None of it is easy, but Furey notes that one of the biggest challenges is perspective. “We don’t want any cowboy attitudes, and we can’t think of ourselves as riding in to save the day. We tell our people that it’s the same as if they were suddenly dropped in the middle of John Hopkins hospital. It’s their hospital, not our hospital. They have a different way of doing things, a different way of charting things, a different language. It’s not our place to change the way things are done.”

Sometimes, however, Team Broken Earth members are able to provide a service that’s almost impossible otherwise. A huge “for instance” is Dr. Art Rideout’s cleft lip and palate reconstructive surgery.

The condition itself, with genetic and nutritional causes, can be found throughout the world and was once very common in Newfoundland. For babies born without a full lip or palate, Dr. Rideout can give them back their smile, restore their ability to eat and talk. With a 45-minute surgery, they gain the ability to blow kisses. “It’s a very good feeling,” Rideout says modestly. “When we walk out of

the operating room and the nurse carries the baby to the parents, and they can see right away the difference we’ve made, it’s a powerful moment.”

Think about that for a second. This is a country where every day is an unavoidable struggle. From the moment they wake up until they fall asleep, Haitians are working to stay alive. They’re not sure they can trust free medical care. They can’t even process the idea of free food. To give a child something as modest as a soccer ball is a bounty equivalent to an entire year of North American holiday gifting. Now imagine the reaction to transforming that child’s life and you’ll have some idea why Dr. Rideout describes it as “addictive.”

Satisfying as this is, he says his less celebrated role as an educator is equally important. “They need more surgeons doing this surgery. There’s a constant demand and not a constant supply of people who can do it.” Having as many as 17 health professionals in the operating room, showing them how he conducts the delicate facial operation without damaging nerves, is an important step towards advancing Haiti’s medical system.

Jackie Connolly is another Team Broken Earth member who has seen fi rst-hand the transformative power of education. But while

Providing trusted, safe and affordable care can be challenging when met with funding challenges. The need to diversify has never been more important in supporting the operations in community care. Economic development and mega-projects have presented an opportunity for growth for CareGivers, and the organization now offers a wide range of training programs such as:

• Canadian mental health fi rst aid; • Non-violent crisis response;• First aid training, ranging from emergency fi rst aid all the way to fi rst

responder and other advanced Red Cross fi rst aid training

With staffed offi ces across the island, CareGivers also has developed relationships with a number of employers both within the province and in other parts of the country. Matthew Head states, “We have been contacted by a number of employers who like the fact that we have professional offi ces with a clinic and nursing staff in each one, a medical director, and a quality management program.

We’ve been able to develop our business in:• DOT certifi ed drug and alcohol screening;• Pre-employment medicals;• Mask fi t;• Post-incident;• After-hours drug screening.

It’s a growing segment for us, one that helps us to retain our nursing staff in the face of very tight margins in the government homecare program.”

For everyone who works at CareGivers, from the newest home support worker to the most experienced nurse, and right up to Matthew Head and Anne Whelan, the company is focused on being part of the community and serving real needs. “The desire to do the right thing and be dependable and accountable is not just learned on the job, it’s deeply rooted in the ethics of the people we hire. And if we need to change what we are doing to meet community needs, then we will,” says Whelan.

It’s a philosophy that Matthew Head embraces. “We’ve become unlike any other provider out there. We know that people are willing to pay for quality care that meets their needs. And we are willing to do what it takes to make sure we meet and exceed those needs every day.”

About CareGivers In the mid-1990s, CareGivers Home Care and Nursing was formed to provide care for seniors and adults requiring home care services. Recognizing the need to set high standards for care, CareGivers voluntarily sought and achieved accreditation from the Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation (now Accreditation Canada)—a standard that it maintains to this day. CareGivers is the only accredited home support/homecare provider in the province.

Growing and responding to community needs From that beginning, CareGivers has developed a range of services that meet not just the needs of people requiring care in their home, but busy professionals who would prefer to pay for services at their convenience. CEO Anne Whelan says, “Working closely with our community partners, we are addressing the many challenges of a crisis-driven system. I know how busy families can be, and being able to schedule an appointment to have bloodwork done, or a nurse to visit mom for a wellness check is very valuable to them.” CareGivers now offers a range of services including: • Private duty nursing (in home,

hospital or long term care facilities); • Foot care;• Convenient blood and specimen

collection in their offi ce or clients home or offi ce; and,

• DNA testing

The CareGivers DifferenceA local business helping to keep quality work, services, and care close to home

Call us any time: 1-855-432-7865 • www.caregiversnl.com facebook.com/CareGiversNL twitter.com/CareGiversNL

When Matthew Head goes to work in the morning, there’s one thing he can be sure of: something new and different is bound to happen. In his 10 years working with CareGivers, from when he started as a frontline staff person to his current role as Senior Director, it’s never been any other way. “Over the years, we’ve grown and changed so much from our beginnings as a home support agency,” observes Head, “ that today we call ourselves a ‘community care provider,’ refl ecting the many services offerings by CareGivers.”

Team Broken Earth Special Edition12

As a not-for-profit organization, we commit 13% of our annual net income to support health-related causes in your community.

Our shareholder?The community.

Proud to support

medaviehealthfoundation.ca

www.clearwater.ca

Visit us online or at one of our two retail locations:757 Bedford Highway | 902-443-0333Halifax International Airport | 902-873-4509

Proud to support the work of

TeamBroken Earth

17069 CW Atlantic BusMag ad v3.indd 1 9/15/2014 4:32:01 PM

the simulation coordinator with the Janeway Children’s and Women’s Health Program has taught CPR to upwards of 100 people on some of her missions to Haiti (she’s been on eight so far), she says she has learned more than she has taught.

Recalling the devastation of her first trip (she was one of the original team members), she remembers how upset she was over the collapsed buildings and the suffering and the children living in the streets. “These people had nothing,” she says, “or so I thought. Yet every morning, they started their day with a 6 a.m. service in the hospital corridor, giving thanks for everything they had. It was the most phenomenal thing I’d ever seen.

“There was so much that needed to be done, that it seemed insurmountable at times. I was crying about it almost every day until one of my coworkers in Haiti spoke to me about it. He said, ‘You have to be happy with what you can do in Haiti, not be sad about what you can’t do.’”

Connolly has quite a bit to be happy about. Both she personally and Team Broken Earth in general have made a measurable difference in Haiti. They’ve saved thousands of lives and influenced even more. One of those people was 22 when they first met him; he was completely paralyzed except for his eyeballs. With the correct diagnosis and treatment, he recovered. Last January, he graduated from an air conditioning and refrigeration program and Miss Jackie, as he calls her, was there to see him accept his diploma. “He introduced us (Team Broken Earth) to everyone, called us his angels. No one had any tissues left,” she says.

Asked what most impresses her about Haiti, Connolly can’t pick a single attribute. Rather, there are many. She speaks of the people and their resilience, their gratitude for every blessing and their powerful sense of family. She references their care for family members in hospital, describing how they will stay in the hospital for the entire duration of the stay. And she admires the children who value learning so much that they will walk more than an hour to get to school, arriving with their uniforms still spotlessly clean. “The parents here make huge sacrifices for their children to get an education, because they know that’s the path to a better future.”

And that’s just what Jackie Connolly

November/December 2014 13

Book Today,

1-800-424-6423www.comfortinnstjohns.com

We take care of the million little things

We believe the difference is in the details. Why? Because we want our guest experience to be defined by rest and rejuvenation. Ultimately, your comfort is our mission. That’s why we support Team Broken Earth, they take the same pride in helping others.

ST. JOHN’S NL

has observed from her work at the hospital in Port-au-Prince. Emergency room physician Dr. Dick Barter leads Team Broken Earth’s rural outreach program. Started in 2013, the rural team is essentially a travelling clinic that goes from town to town, setting up their temporary practice in churches, schools and huts. They’ve even set up benches and sat on the ground when that’s all that’s available. He describes eating meals hand-cooked by village women over charcoal fires and sleeping in tin-roofed shacks while a lightning storm dances overhead.

Before Dr. Barter’s outreach program, the main focus was always on the hospital in Port-au-Prince, where the team treats more than 500 patients during a typical one-week visit. Moving 25 people through the remote parts of Haiti was not always easy, but by the end of their first trip, more than 450 children and almost 300 adults in remote regions had received medical treatment thanks to Broken Earth’s volunteers.

He and the medical residents who accompany him are armed with their eyes, ears, stethoscope and tongue depressor. Without the luxury of an xray machine or blood test, they’ll treat conditions like malnutrition, infection, pneumonia and malaria. “Being

a portable pharmacy, we bring antibiotics, malaria medication, deworming treatments.” Deworming? “Yes, all the children have to get dewormed if they haven’t had it done in three months,” he says matter of factly.

These immediate treatments, however, are just a small part of Dr. Barter’s larger plan. He’d like to see a self-sustained health network in place across the country with clinics staffed by Haitian doctors. “This was originally about patching up people after the earthquake, but it’s turned into so much more than that.”

Andrew Jarvie, an anesthesiologist with the QEII Health Sciences Centre in Halifax, is another Team Broken Earth member who is confident their efforts are assisting the recovery of Haiti’s healthcare system as well as the people they treat. Jarvie notes that it’s not possible for teams of visiting doctors to provide sustainable healthcare in Haiti over the long-term, and that’s why providing classes and training to local staff is such a vital component to the Team Broken Earth mission. “The courses are well attended,” he says. “I’m glad we’re going there. I think we’re making a world of difference and we’re appreciated by the people of Haiti as they work to get their country back on track. The future ultimately looks good for Haiti.”

Team Broken Earth Special Edition14

888-988-5433 • info@eastportfinancial.com • www.eastportfinancialgroup.ca

Your family’s partner inPhilanthropic Planning. Contact our specialized team of planners - whose collective experience includesActuarial, Accounting, Finance and Wealth Management

Eastport Financial Group is a proudsupporter of Team Broken Earth

Proud supporter

of Team

Broken Earth

project.

Chad Coles, an orthopedic trauma surgeon, also with the QEII hospital, was a team leader for Broken Earth on two missions with the group from Halifax. On the fi rst trip, the team was in Haiti less than 30 minutes when called to work on an off-duty police offi cer who had been shot, he says. “We hadn’t even had a tour of the facilities, yet.”

While a gunshot wound might be diffi cult enough to treat in Canada, it’s far more of a challenge in Haiti, where resources are minimal and staff are forced to rely on their instincts and ability to improvise as much as possible.

The lack of supplies is also one of the most memorable aspects of his two trips to Haiti. “You come home from something like that and you get a better appreciation for what we have here. There’s an awareness of how fortunate we are. It makes you careful of how you spend local resources after an experience like that.”

Things we take for granted here, such as food, clean dressings and even bed sheets are not provided for patients in Haiti, says Coles. People being treated in the hospital are dependent on their families to provide these basic necessities as well as food. If there is no family available, then hospital staff will do the best they can to help. “There was a donation table set up. On the

second trip people knew to pack more supplies like blankets for the orphanage and the hospital.”

Coles had never worked with a global surgery effort before joining Team Broken Earth, but found the experience incredibly rewarding for many reasons. He encourages anyone with the time or resources to support Broken Earth’s efforts in Haiti.

Broken Earth volunteers and organizers are always looking for new and better ways to help the people of Haiti improve their healthcare system. In 2013, the organization partnered with the Haitian state university and general hospital on a telemedicine project. This will enable Canada’s experts to share their knowledge through a series of lectures on current medical techniques and best practices. Teleconferences can be linked to classrooms around the world and provide students and medical professionals with a vast amount of experience and knowledge they would not otherwise have available.

Travelling to Haiti is likely the most unsettling, traumatic, stressful, exhilarating, rewarding experience that Team Broken Earth members will ever face. Is it any wonder they clamour to go back again? •

For more information on Team Broken Earth, you can visit them online at www.brokenearth.ca or follow them on twitter @TeamBrokenEarth