Earthquake Survivors in Haiti Require Long-term Assistance
Resurgens Orthopaedics Surgeon Dr. Maurice L. Goins Sees Massive Need for Rehabilitation and Reconstruction
The biggest challenge Haiti faces now is to avoid being “out of sight, out of mind” as the aftermath of the January earthquake moves out of the headlines, says Dr. Maurice L. Goins, a surgeon at Resurgens Orthopaedics who volunteered there recently.
“We need to have a long-term commitment, we need to continue to bring people in and keep helping. It’s a difficult challenge to keep the disaster in the forefront of our minds,” Dr. Goins said.
During a recent trip, Dr. Goins performed 40 surgeries in five days. “The need was overwhelming. No matter how much we did, there was always more we could have done,” he said.
“I was surprised by the number of children who were affected. Most of the people we worked on were children. The youngest I worked on was a two-year-old burn victim. The oldest was close to 70,” he said.
Dr. Goins plans to assemble another medical team and return to Haiti in late spring or early summer. Looking ahead, he sees a monumental need for rehabilitation following the treatment of acute injuries. The Jan. 12 earthquake killed an estimated 200,000 people and injured hundreds of thousands more.
“There are so many people with amputations, I don’t know how they are going to manage. The roads are not great, and there are no sidewalks. It’s makes you realize there will be a tremendous need in the long term,” he said.
Dr. Goins recommended that individuals and groups wanting to help in Haiti contact an organization that has a long history in the country and that knows the infrastructure and the culture. “A lot of church organizations have been working there for years, as well as major relief groups,” he said.
There is so much need in Haiti, he said, that while “we can’t turn it around in a day, but we can certainly make it better.”
Dr. Goins went to Haiti with a non-profit group called LEAP based in Dallas. His team of medical volunteers included a plastic surgeon, an anesthesiologist, four nurses, and a medical technician. They took all the supplies from gowns and gloves to surgical implements that they would need during a week in the county. LEAP was created to work with plastic and reconstructive surgeons and to focus on providing reconstructive surgery for children and adults with deformities. To help Haitians injured in the earthquake, the group organized medical relief efforts and coordinated volunteers from other surgical specialties through Operation Giving Back, the mission arm of the American College of Surgeons.
Dr. Goins practices in the Fayetteville and Morrow offices of Resurgens. He is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon. His areas of expertise include reconstructive spine surgery, cervical spine surgery, minimal invasive spine surgery, lumbar spine surgery, total disc arthroplasty, kyphoplasty, and general orthopaedics.
Dr. Goins completed a residency in orthopaedic surgery at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C. and a fellowship in spine surgery Fellowship at Thomas Jefferson University/ Rothman Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He earned his medical degree at Howard University College of Medicine in Washington.
Resurgens Orthopaedics, Georgia's largest orthopaedic practice, has 20 offices and six surgery centers throughout metro Atlanta. With 93 physicians, Resurgens provides specialized expertise and broad experience in the areas of sports medicine, joint replacement, neck and back surgery, foot and ankle surgery, non-operative spine care, general orthopaedics, hand surgery, arthroscopic surgery, epidural steroid injection, and trauma care. Resurgens provides comprehensive musculoskeletal care in a single location, from injury diagnosis and treatment to rehabilitation services. Learn more at http://www.resurgens.com/.
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