National Anesthesia Services Sends Anesthesia Providers and Medical Supplies to Aid Haiti Earthquake Victims

BEVERLY HILLS, Mich., April 21 /PRNewswire/ -- When Stephen Read, President of National Anesthesia Services, a premier locum tenens and permanent medical staffing company, saw reports of an earthquake in Haiti he immediately set out to help.

Read set up the Haiti Anesthesia Relief program to connect volunteers and supplies to a number of charitable organizations, including Mercy Ships, Hope International Medical Missions and the Gaskov Clerge Foundation.

Ethan Hix, a CRNA working in a permanent job in Tennessee was one of the first to volunteer.  "I feel very thankful that National Anesthesia helped make it possible for me to take part in this relief effort," said Ethan.  "I know our medical team made a big difference in the lives of many people."

"Our clinic saw 900 patients and did 55 surgeries in just over seven days," said Ethan.  "I thought I had an idea of what poverty was before going to Haiti, but I quickly found out that it was beyond anything I could have imagined."

Jamie Kaplin, a CRNA from New Mexico who volunteered to work with the Gaskov Clerge Foundation had a similar reaction.  "The scale of devastation is so immense that it is very difficult to process the suffering of these beautiful people," she said.  "Just as things couldn't get worse, they did and will continue to worsen into the rainy season. I am honored to have been there thanks to National Anesthesia Services."

Jamie and her team worked out of the Stadium in Port au Prince and set up two other "mobile clinics" in a couple churches.  Together they saw between 400 and 600 patients a day.

Besides sending anesthesia providers to Haiti, National Anesthesia Services coordinated medical supplies that were donated to MercyWorks.  

"More help is needed," said Stephen Read.  "The relief efforts are ongoing and thousands are still waiting for medical attention.  We are asking for more volunteers and more supplies."

To help visit www.haitianesthesiarelief.com or call 1-800-642-1999.

National Anesthesia Services, Inc. is a premier locum tenens agency specializing in locum tenens jobs and the permanent anesthesia staffing of anesthesiologists and CRNA's in medical facilities throughout the United States.

SOURCE National Anesthesia Services