Volunteers sought for immediate Haiti deployment — MEETING ROOM CHANGED

Other ways to help State department officials say the best way for Americans to assist Haiti is to donate money by texting “Haiti” to 90999 on cellular telephones, which allows people to make $10 donations to American Red Cross Haitian relief fund that will be added to their cell phone bills. Other groups that are collecting Haiti relief funds include: American Red Cross Save the Children Doctors Without Borders International Relief and Development Salvation Army View a complete list of vetted organizations. View Better Business Bureau tips for wise text giving to Haitian relief organizations.

Today, UNMC and The Nebraska Medical Center will assemble their first group of volunteers for immediate deployment to Haiti, in collaboration with Project MediShare, in response to the U.S. State Department’s call for expert help for the earthquake-ravaged nation.

Presently, tremendous needs exist in Haiti for specialists in:

• Surgery, particularly trauma surgery;
  
• Orthopaedics;
  
• Anesthesiology; and
  
• Emergency medicine.

Potential volunteers in these specialties who are ready and able to travel this week should report to the Sorrell Center, Room 2018 today at 1 p.m. with passports or passport numbers. Volunteers are anticipated to deploy on Saturday.

At the meeting, detailed information about volunteer service will be discussed, including:

• Length of deployment;
  
• Use of personal time off;
  
• Anticipated expenses;
  
• Evacuation insurance; and
  
• Accommodations.

The initial group of medical center volunteers may include up to 20 members.

The need for assistance to Haiti will continue over a long period of time for these and other specialties. UNMC will continue to provide support in the areas where it is needed. Regular updates and calls for assistance will be forthcoming.

Those who cannot deploy but who want to support the UNMC team can contribute to the University of Nebraska Foundation’s UNMC Haitian Relief and Outreach Fund, which will purchase medical equipment, supplies, medication and offset the costs of travel expenses.

For more information, contact Ayman El-Mohandes, M.B.B.Ch., M.D., M.P.H., dean of UNMC’s College of Public Health, at aelmohandes@unmc.edu.