The Epocrates team knows that healthcare professionals in our network
improve and save lives every day. We especially salute the medical
volunteers and aid workers who are caring for those afflicted by the
recent tragedy in South-east Asia and East Africa. If you would like to
donate money, medical services or equipment, here are some links to
charities and organizations who are providing relief to Tsunami victims
and to countless people suffering from man-made and natural disasters
all over the world:
The U.S. Goverment has a listing of dozens of non-profit agencies
working in the affected area: US AID Tsunami Earthquake Relief
Volunteer Nurse Reports Back From Banda Aceh
Jeanie Schmidt, a California RN who has used Epocrates references for several years, recently volunteered with the International Medical Corps (IMC) in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, for 3 weeks. Banda Aceh was the region worst hit by the earthquake and tsunami disaster of December 27th, 2004. On the day of Jeanie's return to the U.S., she sent this first-hand account of her experiences:
"I started working in the university hospital that was shown on CNN (Zainal Abidin Hospital in central Banda Aceh) where they were just shoveling the mud out of one of two hospitals left standing in the whole province I think. It was hard to get started working - you had to go in and affiliate with someone who already had something set up, like this hospital for example. We had to attend their meetings and go back for three days in a row before we could get "in" and start working in the ER. It was great to work with doctors and nurses from all over the world, but challenging with everyone bringing in their own meds/supplies and speaking different languages. I noted meds from 6 different countries in that ER - none of it familiar, and none of it able to be looked up since our US references were for US drugs. Still, my Epocrates references came in handy SO MANY TIMES in that ER!! ALL the staff I worked with used it - we had no other source of information, no books! You SAVED so many people from us relying on memory!
It was a dilemma to continue a plan of care or figure out what had been done for patients. We had scraps of paper, at best, for charts and certainly not everyone spoke or wrote English. The world was there; we had groups in the ER from Switzerland, China, Korea, Indonesia, Belgium, and Spain, not to mention the Australian and German Armies working to get the water and sewer back up, as well as setting up their own ORs, labs and xray facilities on the grounds.
The environment was harsh and filthy with no water or toilets available. There were no bedpans and we made urinals out of water bottles. We had no way to clean up the patients. The mosquitoes and the flies were rampant. Cats were everywhere including eating mice in the ER (I felt so bad for all the many starving, emaciated animals roaming the streets). It was hotter than Hades with no ventilation and high heat and humidity. We were to leave our shoes outside so we were forced to work barefoot or in socks until we could come up with 'indoor shoes'. This left us slopping around in whatever mud, blood, sewage or excrement was on the floor. They did their best to mop, but chaos was constant. We had limited equipment, supplies and medication and about 200 patients a day. It was hard to do much to really treat patients - sort of like arriving on the scene of a horrible car accident without an ambulance. There was a MASSIVE overabundance of doctors and few nurses.
I truly enjoyed working with every medical team from the other countries no matter what our differences in technique were. We could all learn from each other. The flip side of everyone being there was that with over 100 NGOs, everyone wanted their territory. One Canadian Nurse put it best, it was like a medical Olympics with everyone trying to outdo the other, and yet absurd under the conditions. We had so many cameras in our faces constantly and with no permission from the patients. I was actually pushed out of someone's shot while caring for a patient. The doctors and the media were equally snapping shots and videoing. It was a chaotic frenzy.
Next, I wanted to help the community and not just see the inside of the ER (wonder why?), so I asked to go out on mobile clinic. Unfortunately, that day started a 5-day religious holiday for the Indonesians that we had no idea was to occur. This meant no drivers, food, etc. (thank goodness I had Granola bars and beef jerky). Hence mobile clinics were on hold. Mind you, this setback was only one of many. The only thing you could count on throughout this experience was that you couldn't count on anything. As an alternative experience, I moved on to the Danish Emergency Medical Hospital for my last week. The Danish are amazing! They took us in with no qualms or hesitation. There is a write up about this hospital on the IMC
website. It was such a pleasure to work with the creator of this DEMH and every person on their mission. I helped in OR and worked PACU with local medical students. They told me I was in charge there, but that was an overstatement. These students had it all under control. I recovered patients and the standard of care was nearly up to home but with less monitoring capacity. Relying on practiced skills and instinct was key. The tents were still hot, but animals were kept out, there were fewer insects and it was far cleaner. They actually had air conditioning that maybe brought down the temp 4 degrees! The OR was the coolest place to be. Unfortunately we still had to have a fly & mosquito-swatting match at the beginning of each day - the insects came into the OR with each patient.
The Danish even brought their own cook and fed us daily. It was so good to have something besides white rice and eggs. They gave us each a much-coveted DEMH t-shirts, almost literally off their backs, and had us for a special dinner two nights in a row. We were also given our own set of clogs to wear inside the tents. The Japanese ran the ER/Clinic area at the DEMH (until Mentor took it on) and brought sparkling non-alcoholic juice for dinner. What a treat in a part of Indonesia where alcohol is prohibited. The Danish loved my Epocrates software too!
The people of Banda Aceh are so lovely, kind, appreciative and wonderful. Unfortunately, the common thread of all experiences and encounters there was that everyone had lost someone, everyone and everything they knew or owned. It was not uncommon to hear of entire families of 12 or more being wiped out. Any mild suffering on our part was so worth any effort to help these people. But I must admit, it was a very long 3 weeks. I didn't anticipate the adjustment of coming home. The first night back, sitting on the couch with my husband, I was still smelling rotting flesh. I haven't been able to adjust my sleep (jet lag, nights and days reversed and I'm still dreaming of all the people and devastation). I wake up thinking they are all around. I never expected any of this. I actually cried missing them on the plane ride home. It is hard to go back to creature comforts knowing they are all left forever among the devastation.
But the positive definitely outweighs the negative and such is life and Nursing. I met a native Sri Lankan man on the plane who actually managed to take $2700 over from his US Masonic Lodge and start an orphanage in Sri Lanka. It has been such a blessing to be near so many wonderful, caring people. I had so many wonderful experiences — I could go on for days!"
Jeanie at work in Banda Aceh
