Local Haiti Heroes Recognized

The Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) honored Dr. Owen J. O'Neill, MD and Dr. Frank J. Lattarulo, D.P.M. of Phelps Memorial Hospital Center in Sleepy Hollow for volunteering their services in Haiti following the devastating January 12, 2010 earthquake near the nation's capital, Port-au-Prince.

The May 27 Honoring Haiti's Heroes event took place in Manhattan and recognized more than 400 clinicians who lent aid after the tragic national disaster.

Lattarulo, a podiatrist and wound care specialist, along with colleague O'Neill, director of Hyperbaric Medicine at Phelps Memorial Hospital Center, decided to travel to Haiti once they were notified wound care specialists were needed.

"I was sitting there with [O'Neill]," said Lattarulo, "and I said, 'I want to go to Haiti.'"

They organized their departure through Project Medishare of the University of Miami and were deployed to Port-au-Prince on March 6 with a group of approximately 180 medical volunteers.

For eight days, the group endured scorching sun, no sinks or bathrooms and timed two-minute showers while working in a temporary hospital made up of a few tents near the capital's airport.

"It wasn't the easiest thing to do. They were setting fractures without x-ray equipment and doing operations on picnic tables," said O'Neill of the site's conditions.

O'Neill was responsible for the adult wound healing area, while Lattarulo oversaw the pediatric care tent during the stay. Each treated between 25 and 30 patients during each 16-hour day.

"I was certainly prepared to see a lot of devastation and severe injuries, but I wasn't prepared for the number of children permanently deformed," said Lattarulo. "It was overwhelming."

In addition to treating those directly affected by the earthquake, the doctors cared for the people who needed everyday medical care, as the earthquake had destroyed other hospitals in the area.

"I think the people were definitely very appreciative of what we were doing for them," said O'Neill. "Despite all the devastation, the one thing that stuck out in my mind is that these people picked themselves up, dusted off and were going about their days."

Despite the minimalist conditions of the makeshift hospital and the potentially dangerous area, Lattarulo, O'Neill and the other clinicians thrived.

"What a group of people," O'Neill said. "It's just amazing how everything seemed to be so seamless despite the fact that you're working with a group of people who have never worked together before."

Additionally, the two doctors befriended a United Nations guard responsible for ensuring the safety of the hospital, and managed to get a private ride in a UN vehicle during the visit.

"We spent two hours driving around," said O'Neill. "The devastation was just unbelievable."

Neither doctor had worked in a crisis situation abroad before, but both felt a tremendous sense of accomplishment from the silent gratitude of the patients.

"If you can get through that," said Lattarulo, "you can get through just about anything."

For more information about Project Medishare, visit their website.