HUSBAND-WIFE MEDICAL TEAM JOIN BATTLE AGAINST CHOLERA EPIDEMIC
(PORTLAND, Ore., Dec. 2, 2010)—The cholera outbreak in Haiti is worsening. So, Medical Teams International is sending its sixth team to Haiti tomorrow to treat more infected patients. The team includes several veteran volunteers, including husband and wife duo from Portland; Drs. Mary Burry and Tom Hoggard.
"The situation within Port-au-Prince is escalating," reported Ted Steinhauer, Haiti country director for Medical Teams International. "We are finding bodies in the streets, particularly by the waterfront and in the densely populated areas. There are now full-time vehicles combing the streets to pick up bodies and bury them in mass graves. I don't know how many, but enough to cause great concern."
"We have received urgent requests from all over Haiti. We must do the best we can where we are until God provides more teams and more IV solutions," Steinhauer said.
Medical Teams International is currently procuring needed medicines. The team of seven volunteer medical professionals leaving tomorrow will work in Haiti until December. 13.
Details about Cholera Response Team # 6 are attached. Interviews are available upon request.
| Name | Location | Specialty | Medical Teams International History | Flight Info |
| Mary Burry, MD | Portland, Ore. | General Medicine,Family Practice | 17th trip with Medical Teams International, 13th for Disaster Response,Member of Haiti Earthquake Team 9 | Depart out of Portland, Ore. Dec 3 at 8:30a.m. (AA#1218) |
| Tom Hoggard, MD | Portland, Ore. | General Medicine,Family Practice | Team Leader17th trip with Medical Teams International, 13th for Disaster Response,Member of Haiti Earthquake Team 3 | Depart out of Portland, Ore.Dec 3 at 8:30 a.m. (AA#1218) |
| Alan Jamison, MD | Morristown, Tenn. | Pediatrics | 1st trip with Medical Teams International, 1st for Disaster Response | Depart out of Knoxville, Tenn. Dec 3 at 2:19p.m. (US #2532) |
| Don LaGrone, MD | Portland, Ore. | Pediatrics | 2nd trip with Medical Teams International, 2nd for Disaster Response,Member of Haiti Earthquake Team 10 | Depart out of Portland, Ore.Dec 3 at 8:30 a.m. (AA#1218) |
| Kwan Kew Lai, MD | Belmont, Mass. | General Medicine,Family Practice | 1st trip with Medical Teams International. | Depart out of Boston, Mass. Dec 3 at 2:10 p.m. (AA #1348) |
| Sherry Lanning, RN | Salem, Ore. | Family Practice,General Surgery | 1st trip with Medical Teams International. | Depart out of Portland, Ore. Dec 3 at 8:30 a.m. (AA#1218) |
| Ian Shenk, MD | Fairfax, Va. | Gastroenterology | 15th trip with Medical Teams International, 11th for Disaster Response,Member of Haiti Earthquake Team 10 | Depart out of Washington D.C. Dec 3 at 4:55p.m. (AA #1321) |
Medical Teams International is a Christian global health organization that empowers communities to live full and healthy lives. The agency works with grassroots organizations, churches and ministries of health to ensure that their projects fit seamlessly into local cultures Since 1979, Medical Teams International has shipped more than $1.4 billion in antibiotics, surgical kits and lifesaving medicines to care for 25 million people in 100 countries around the world. More than 2,000 volunteers meet the needs of people worldwide each year.
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Contact:
Marlene Minor
503.341.6620 (media cell)
mminor@medicalteams.org
Megan Streng
503.624.1022
mstreng@medicalteams.org
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