SUNY Downstate Medical Center
The Downstate Medical Center Haitian Earthquake Information and Support Line. 718-270-7723
From our President John C. LaRosa, MD
A Message from President Barack Obama
Links to:
News
• Apri 12, 2010 - The Daily News - SUNY Downstate physician Dr. JeanTropnas while grappling with loss still counsels Haitian Community.
• April 11, 2010 - New York Times - SUNY Downstate to receive grant to assist community-based religious institutions and other groups
to provide basic health screening and access to mental health services for the Haitian population.
• February 24, 2010 - Report on Downstate's Latest Efforts to Support Haiti: Medical Team Travels to Port-au-Prince
• January 28, 2010 - Downstate hosted a forum held by U.S. Representative Yvette Clarke on immigration issues as they apply to Haiti.
• SUNY Downstate Responds to Earthquake in Haiti, Counseling Many in Brooklyn’s Large Haitian-American Community
• SUNY Downstate Counselors Reach Out to Local Haitians
Resources
• Local Events
• Charitable Organizations
• Immigration Information
• Other Resources
Haitian Earthquake
| Local Events | ||
In response to the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on
January 12, SUNY Downstate Center Medical Center responded by providing
emergency counseling and mental health services to Brooklyn’s Haitian-American
community, the second largest Haitian population in the United States.
In addition, in mid February SUNY Downstate and its affiliate
Kings County Hospital Center will be sending a team of fifteen physicians and
other health professionals to Haiti to assist in relief efforts working with
Emedex International, a non-profit organization founded by emergency physicians
at Downstate and Kings County.
Immediately after the earthquake, members of Department of
Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, the Chaplains’ Office, the Employee
Assistance Program, the Social Work Department, the Office of Emergency
Preparedness, and other units at SUNY Downstate began meeting daily to
coordinate outreach to the local Haitian-American community and to mobilize
resources internally. An open forum was held at which Downstate employees and
students discussed the tragic event and offered ideas on how best to help
people suddenly in great need.
Downstate’s mobile health van that is used to provide health
screenings and other services in the community was dispatched to the
Flatbush-Caton Market, a location where there are many vendors and customers of
Haitian origin. Assisted by students and other volunteers from Downstate who
speak Kreyol, free counseling services were provided to people at the Market.
After the Martin Luther King Day holiday weekend, the van returned
to the Market and then moved to Saint Jerome’s Roman Catholic Church, where
counseling services were provided during the afternoon and early evening.
Downstate representatives also went door to door in the community, visiting
places of business to offer assistance.
Counseling has also been provided on campus through the Chaplains’
Office, the Social Work Department, and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. The
Chapel at Downstate’s University Hospital of Brooklyn served as the portal for
Downstate employees and students seeking assistance, 24 hours a day, and has
been open to the external community as well. In addition, numerous in-patients and
people accessing the Emergency Department received counseling, as well as
medical care.
On January 22, the Downstate van returned to Saint Jerome’s Church
to provide additional assistance when the church held a mass for the victims of
the earthquake. Downstate offered assistance to hundreds of parishioners and
provided counseling in the basement of the church after the religious service.
Downstate volunteers brought food and refreshments for those wishing to access
counseling services that night.
On January 23, the van returned to the Flatbush-Caton Market, and
the following day Downstate’s Center for Community Health Promotion and
Wellness offered health screenings and counseling referrals at Holy Cross Roman
Catholic Church. Additional visits to sites in the community have also been
planned. Fliers in Kreyol and English detailing how to access
counseling and medical services have been distributed, both internally and in
the local neighborhood. Walk-in mental health service clinics were
coordinated with Kings County Hospital Center. On January 28, Downstate hosted
a forum held by U.S. Representative Yvette Clarke on immigration issues as they
apply to Haiti. A SUNY Downstate staff member acted as
interpretor.
On February 5, Downstate will provide counseling services at St.
Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church following an evening requiem mass.
Outreach has also been made to the Protestant Haitian churches in
Brooklyn.
Downstate’s website (http://www.downstate.edu/haiti.html) has featured information about services related to the earthquake and the campus set up an account for people to make monetary donations to help the people of Haiti. |
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SUNY Downstate's Director of Pastoral Care Reverend Sharon Walker with attendee |
|
 from left to right - AVP of Community and Government Relations Michael Harrell, Drs. Eda& Roy Hastick & CACCI Member Derek Noel join SUNY Downstate in the Haitian Relief effort. |
SUNY Downstate Medical Center Staff (from left to right - AVP of Community and Government Relations Michael Harrell, Ramotse Saunders, MD, Chief Resident Sukriti Mittal, NYS Assemblyman Nick Perry and Chief Resident Josephine Mokonongo) mobilized to provide counseling for those residents affected by the Haiti Earthquake. |
Resources
SCAM ALERT: BEWARE OF HAITI EARTHQUAKE SCAMS
The New York State Consumer Protection Board (CPB) is warning consumers to beware of unfamiliar organizations soliciting funds for victims of the recent earthquake in Haiti. Read More
Please reach out to those with no web access |
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NYS |
For those who do not have access to the web, the Governor has established a hotline – 1-888-769-7243 – staffed at the Department of Taxation and Finance which has provided this same service during responses to the World Trade Center attack in 2001, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, and the recent emergency closure of the Lake Champlain Bridge in October 2009. The hotline will be operations from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends and holidays. |