Stanford assembles Haiti medical aid team

SAN FRANCISCO

Dr. Paul Auerbach, is one of four or five doctors who have been selected to be on stand-by to head to Haiti on a medical aid mission.

Auerbach, a professor of surgery who is also a practicing physician in the emergency medicine division of Stanford Medical Center, was already heading to Miami for a medical meeting and then on Wednesday he was asked to join a team to head to help the people of Haiti.

Stanford was called by the International Medical Corp. and asked if it could assemble a team of doctors and ER nurses to go for several weeks.

"Personally, I've never encountered anything this severe. I've practiced medicine for many years and this I'm sure will be beyond anything I've ever encountered," he said.

Auerbach says from the images he has seen on TV, he expects to treat traumatic injuries from the earthquake, diseases due to lack of clean water, as well as patients who have chronic illnesses, but lost medical care.

The International Medical Corp., which contacted Stanford for help, has an advance team in Haiti assessing what the needs are, safety issues and how to get supplies in.

Once notified, Auerbach will then head from Miami to Haiti -- an honorable job much-needed.

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