Haitians want United States to "take over"
Pearl Karamitros
Issue date: 2/3/10 Section: News
The United States is providing much food and health aid to Haiti after the devastation of the earthquake on Jan. 12, yet Haitians are calling for more.
Patients have been evacuated to the United States to receive medical care. Flights transporting critically injured Haitians into the United States were temporarily suspended because of multi-faceted logistical issues. Now, however, the flights are to resume.
White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said Saturday, "Having received assurances that additional capacity exists both here and among our international partners, we determined that we can resume these critical flights."
The patients that are evacuated from Haiti are those whose medical needs cannot be met by doctors in Haiti. U.S. personnel have seen almost 23,000 people since the January 12 earthquake. The airlifts halted because of "concerns about the strain on domestic health capacity," Vietor said.
American officials, however, have worked to increase the capacity to care for patients through nonprofit and U.S. hospital connections.
Another issue affecting the flights was the question about who would pay for the patients' care. Some states refused entrance to needy Haitians last Wednesday, putting a stop to the flights. Governor Charlie Crist of Florida asked for the federal government to activate the National Disaster Medical System to provide reimbursement to Florida and other states for taking in the uninsured patients.
Florida has opened itself up to taking in victims and Florida officials said they never asked for the airlifts to be stopped. The officials also said the state is committed to assisting Haitian quake victims.
Haiti faces more than just medical needs. International relief organizations are delivering hundreds of tons of rice to homeless residents in Port-au-Prince, the nation's capital. American soldiers back these relief organizations.
As these needs become more and more prominent, everyone is trusting that the Americans will provide.
Patients have been evacuated to the United States to receive medical care. Flights transporting critically injured Haitians into the United States were temporarily suspended because of multi-faceted logistical issues. Now, however, the flights are to resume.
White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said Saturday, "Having received assurances that additional capacity exists both here and among our international partners, we determined that we can resume these critical flights."
The patients that are evacuated from Haiti are those whose medical needs cannot be met by doctors in Haiti. U.S. personnel have seen almost 23,000 people since the January 12 earthquake. The airlifts halted because of "concerns about the strain on domestic health capacity," Vietor said.
American officials, however, have worked to increase the capacity to care for patients through nonprofit and U.S. hospital connections.
Another issue affecting the flights was the question about who would pay for the patients' care. Some states refused entrance to needy Haitians last Wednesday, putting a stop to the flights. Governor Charlie Crist of Florida asked for the federal government to activate the National Disaster Medical System to provide reimbursement to Florida and other states for taking in the uninsured patients.
Florida has opened itself up to taking in victims and Florida officials said they never asked for the airlifts to be stopped. The officials also said the state is committed to assisting Haitian quake victims.
Haiti faces more than just medical needs. International relief organizations are delivering hundreds of tons of rice to homeless residents in Port-au-Prince, the nation's capital. American soldiers back these relief organizations.
As these needs become more and more prominent, everyone is trusting that the Americans will provide.
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