Florida Hospital Sends Medical Supplies to Port-au-Prince

Florida Hospital Provides Medical Supplies to a Port-au-Prince Hospital to Aid in Haitian Relief Efforts

ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 20, 2010 - Florida Hospital employees are working to load up 10,000 pounds of medical supplies and personal items to be flown to Haiti to aide in the disaster relief efforts.  Included in the shipment are 30,000 gloves, 1,000 gowns and 2,000 bars of soap.  The 20 pallets of supplies, weighing approximately 10,000 pounds, also include IV supply kits and powdered Gatorade.  The supplies will be flown to Haiti via cargo plane. 

To make Florida Hospital's efforts effective and most beneficial, we are working closely and coordinating with the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA).  ADRA has a 30 year established record in Haiti. In addition, the Seventh-day Adventist church operates a 71-bed healthcare facility and school just outside of Port-au-Prince. ADRA acts as Florida Hospital's eyes and ears on the ground and gives daily assessments of the situation.  Through them, Florida Hospital understands their very specific needs and is acting accordingly. 

Understandably, ADRA's Haiti operations are being inundated; there are literally thousands of earthquake victims on the property in need of medical attention and nourishment.

Based on the information received, Florida Hospital's response will fit into two categories: 

• Outbound: sending supplies, equipment, and possibly personnel to Haiti, if requested.
• Inbound: preparing for the possible influx of Haitians coming to Central Florida who will need medical attention.

Florida Hospital has some specific information about outbound efforts that we can provide:

• Florida Hospital has arranged to send medical supplies to ADRA in Haiti via chartered jet, scheduled to leave Thursday, January 21.  As mentioned, these supplies are based on specific requests and will be delivered safely and securely by U.N. personnel to the compound of the Adventist hospital near Port-au-Prince. 
• In addition, ADRA representatives will be setting up a headquarters at the Orlando campus.  Starting this week, Florida Hospital will be working with ADRA to facilitate further shipments of supplies to Haiti.
• In the event a request for personnel comes from officials in Haiti, Florida Hospital would like to have a team of medical professionals ready and able to go with short notice.  There is also a growing need for medical professionals to care for evacuees in Central Florida.  Any physicians, nurses or medical professionals interested in joining the team of volunteers, please visit http://www.floridahospital.com/HaitiHelp. (this site should be completed by 5pm today)

In the short-term, donating money to the cause is perhaps the best way of adding to the relief efforts. If you would like to make a donation, please visit http://www.adra.org

The Florida Hospital Foundation has also made it possible for you to directly contribute to Haitian relief.  You can easily donate $5 via cell phone.  Text "MISSION" to 90999 (standard text message rates apply).

As more details of these relief efforts are determined we will keep you informed.  Media outlets are encouraged to check the Florida Hospital Media Relations web site at www.floridahospitalnews.com for the latest updates.                      

For media inquiries only, contact Florida Hospital Media Relations at 407-303-8217.

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