Aside from addressing immediate medical concerns after disasters, Boots On The Ground also engages in on-going and sustained relief efforts designed to support those who need it the most. In Haiti, we've established a medical clinic in the Delmas 40 area that now treats hundreds of patients each week.

Once our small BOTG team arrived in country, we settled in the Delmas 40 area and immediately began treating those in need. Within an hour, James L. Clark and Harold Tarter where summoned to a small compound ran by a local pastor, where a young man with a broken right femur, and left wrist laid cradled by his father's arms. We were told he hadn't urinated since the earthquake hit. His bladder was distended, which can be a life threatening condition in addition to the trauma he had suffered when the building he was in collapsed an fell on him.

James turned his LED headlamp on and began examining the young man. With the help of some locals, he pulled a catheter from his aidbag and began the painful process of manually emptying the young man's bladder without anesthetic. The boy reported nearly instant relief. His other injuries were also treated, including imobilizing his leg and wrist, but little more could be done because of the harsh realities that there were no functioning hospitals within walking distance, and transportation wasn't available. The boy had to be treated locally until evacuation could be arranged to a facility that had orthopedic surgeons on duty, which took three more days to arrange.

This one case, and there are countless others, illustrates the need for sustained medical support. Our goal is to continue to build the local clinic, arrange for reliable transportation and evacuation contingencies from the local community to other facilities.

If you would like to help us continue to support this community and others, please click on the "Support Us" link above.