Group returns from 'challenging' Haiti relief mission

Mission accomplished.

A group of local doctors, nurses and dentists recently returned from a week-long trip to earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

"The work was very challenging," said Scott Johnson, a Post Falls dentist. "There is no electricity in most villages and there is no way to provide modern dental services. We could only treat the most serious of infections with extractions and antibiotics."

Michael Ettner, a Kootenai Medical Center emergency room doctor who assembled the team, said he believes the locals helped about 2,500 people.

"We provided surgeries and fitted prosthetics and provided about $4,000 in medications," Ettner said. "The rewards were as great for us as they were for the Haitians. The team that we assembled was fantastic."

Also making the trip were: Julie Hoerner, Solana Budwig, Patrick Stanford, Audrey Winter and Rachel Wickham, all nurses; Hoerner's daughter Kendall, a Post Falls High senior; Ross Simonds, a Liberty Lake dentist; and Jeff Wickham, emergency medical technician.

The team, which paid for its own expenses, provided medical care through the Haiti Endowment Fund, a nonprofit Christian organization that has worked in Haiti for the past 20 years.

In Haiti, the most serious patients would be selected from the crowd and provided with appointment cards. Once the appointments were completed, the team would go out into the crowd to select more patients.

"The people, in spite of the conditions, were very sweet-natured and most appreciative of the care that we were providing," Johnson said.

The life expectancy of Haitians was only about 50 to 60 years with the average life expectancy dropping to age 30 after the earthquake. Jan. 12 marked the one-year anniversary of the quake.