Patients from Haiti could be treated at UNC Hospitals

A woman waits for care Wednesday at a makeshift hospital in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. MCT/Rick Loomis for LAT

UNC Hospitals is preparing to care for Haitian patients in the wake of the recent catastrophic earthquake.

Hospital officials are still unsure if they will receive patients and how many. But the hospital would be able to take between 25 and 50 patients, said Dalton Sawyer, director of emergency preparedness and continuity planning.

“It’s a complex issue with a lot of questions without a lot of answers,” he said.

The devastating magnitude-7.0 earthquake hit Haiti on Tuesday. The Haitian Red Cross estimates the number of deaths at between 45,000 and 50,000, and there appear to be few places to store or bury the bodies. 

The biggest needs are in pediatric, intensive care and burn units, Sawyer said. There are several cultural, language and legal barriers that healthcare providers must overcome to treat the Haitian patients, he said.

The people speak a unique version of French and Haitian Creole. Sawyer said he has been working to find translators if the need for them arises.

There’s also a lot of paperwork that must be done to get the patients out of Haiti and into the United States to keep track of the patients and make sure they have a place to go after treatment.

The hospital would receive about a 72-hour notice before a patient arrives. A committee of different doctors from various departments will be contacted immediately.

They will decide whether or not the hospital can handle additional patients. They consider available beds and equipment, staffing and cost.

“We can’t put ourselves into the position where we take in more than we can handle,” Sawyer said, adding that the hospital has an obligation to its current patients.

The hospital would absorb some of the cost for caring for the patients. It could also be reimbursed by relief organizations or the United States government.

“We don’t want to say no to anybody,” Sawyer said. “But we want to make sure what we can do we can sustain.”