January 24, 2010 -- "It's a massive, logistics infrastructure and security problem."

From Toni Brayer, M.D., Chief Medical Officer Sutter Health West Bay Region, Leader for Sutter Health's Help for Haiti

I also heard from Dr. Barry Rose, a Sutter-affiliated California Pacific Medical Center anesthesiologist and Haiti volunteer with Operation Rainbow. After a week on the ground, he is discouraged with the lack of coordination and lack of security for the teams that need to go away from the medical area to help patients in the surrounding communities.

Dr. Rose reports, “It’s a massive logistics, infrastructure and security problem. The scope of the damage is big, so we need to get out into the field, but the teams cannot be sent out without very serious security. Instead, projects spring up for surgical and continuing care of the patients that have some power and safety. Our efforts are hugely centered around the church structures—like after Hurricane Katrina. This is why I went where I did (on the Dominican Republic border), to be able to do as much actual surgical and work as possible, which we have done. We’re also helping to build an ongoing avenue for care—a difficult process and something that will take time.”