News & Events

In the midst of the chaos surrounding the recovery efforts in Haiti, the United Nations and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) requested that OMI conduct a survey of existing electronic patient tracking and medical record systems.  The OMI team formed the Haiti Information Technology (HIT) Rescue Project and simultaneously field tested and deployed a mobile electronic medical record (EMR) in eastern Haiti.

The enclosed report details the successes and limitations of the existing EMR systems.  It also suggests a future course of action.  Electronic medical records and mobile health IT are critical in modern disaster response.  And, the Operational Medicine Institute team has shown that these systems can be effectively deployed in austere environments.

In an effort to improve knowledge management and information dissemination, the OMI has begun an online journal club of articles that our staff are reading or find interesting.  Please feel free to submit articles to us.  Enjoy this trial service.

OMI Journal Club

The OMI Haiti Information Technology (HIT) Rescue team continues its partnership with the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF), supporting their ground operations with the iChart application.  Leaders from the PAMF have provided important feedback and operational suggestions based on their mobile clinic activities over the past 3 months in Haiti. 

Recently, the PAMF has worked with Caretools to modify the iChart for use with the iPAD.  We are excited to see how this application works during the next deployment to Haiti this month.

New groups highlighted in Unconventional Diplomacy section.  Click here for more

The following article was recently published in the online small wars journal.  It comes from the National Defense University and offers one insight into the increasingly complex challenges faced in humanitarian crisis zones.

http://www.ndu.edu/inss/docUploaded/SF255_LeSage.pdf

The OMI team's efforts in Haiti were recently highlighted in the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Center for Public Leadership's Gleitsman film festival.  The documentary features OMI Director David Callaway and team leaders Seth Moulton and Elizabeth Cote.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDbt7a6NvE8&sns=em

The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) Newsletter recently described OMI efforts to establish an Incident Commnad Structure (ICS) in Jimani, Dominican Republic days after the deadly Haiti Earthquake.  Pictured is Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Emergency Medicine physician Dr. Sean Kelly.  Dr. Kelly served as the OMI Team One Director of Medical Operations.

http://www.acep.org/acepmembership.aspx?id=48021#story5

Dr. Amado Alejandro Baez,MD, MPH Co-Director of OMI is to lead Static Medical Support efforts for the International Haiti Summit in Punta Cana Dominican Republic.

Dr. Baez describes early OMI efforts with Dr. Elizabeth Cote on the ground in the Dominican Republic.  This session provides a basic historical overview of the initial ground work by the OMI team.

See Video

Please check out the following videos documenting OMI's efforts in Haiti.

Initial Briefing

Good Samaritan Hospital (ARC video)

HIT Rescue iPhone short briefing

HIT Rescue iPhone application for Child Protection

Kids dancing in safe zone

The recently released memo details the current coordinating system for relief efforts in Haiti.  Click memo to read the complete document.

The OMI is currently working on a project to utilize off the shelf information technology to create deployable disaster response solutions.  The Haiti IT (HIT) Rescue project is trialing multiple systems to determine the applicability of mobile technology platforms in complex humanitarian emergencies.

The phase one trial of an off- the- shelf iPhone based application is nearing completion.  The OMI HIT Rescue team on the ground is finalizing user surveys and implementing action plans for the identified high risk populations.  To date, though still a trial, the HIT Rescue teams have identified over 20 unaccompanied minors and placed them into a child protection program, reunited 10 families, and integrated 18 amputee victims into the Comprehensive Amputee Identification and Rehabilitation (CAIR) Consortium.

The team is working to establish collaborative agreements with Good Samaritan Hospital in Jimani, DR and Sacre Couer Hospital in Milot, Haiti to expand the scale of these important initiatives.

OMI's team is currently part of the United Nation's Health Cluster and has been coordinating with the Dominican Ministry of Health as well as the Pan American Health Organization. As more and more stress is placed on operations in the Dominican Republic, we are racing against the clock to produce a coordinated and centralized plan for the region and need support from private partners back home to ensure that Jimaní, the major crossroads from Haiti to the Dominican Republic, can function as efficiently as possible.   

The Dominican Republic is becoming the critical staging platform for disaster relief for Haiti, both because of its proximity and its significantly better infrastructure. Medical refugees, volunteers and supplies are just starting to pour in to the Dominican Republic but the situation is not yet as chaotic as Haiti. Therefore, this is a critical time to pull together a strategic roadmap to aid frontline health providers, the U.N., the Dominican government and all volunteers. There is a compelling and immediate operational need to prevent further loss of life, coordinate, integrate, and synchronize efforts with the government of the Dominican Republic, and to ensure efficiency of response with an integrated solution for all aid organizations.

OMI is also working in conjunciton with representatives of the Dominican Government to investigate pathways to disaster diplomacy.

The OMI has deployed a rapid response and assessment team to Jimani, Dominican Republic to assist with the massive influx of casualties from the January 12th earthquake in Haiti.  Efforts are being led by OMI Co-Directors Dr. David Callaway and Dr. Alejandro Baez.  Please see our blog for daily updates.

OMI blog:  http://blog.opmedinstitute.org/

The Operational Medicine Institute offers our sympathies to those who have had family members injured or killed by the recent earthquake in Haiti.  We are currently coordinating efforts with the Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine at Hospital General Plaza de la Salud in Santo Domingo to provide emergency medical relief for victims of this disaster.

The OMI Co-Director, Dr. Baez is working locally with various government and non- governmental organizations to craft a coordinated response plan.  The Boston staff is coordinating efforts with members of the Massachusetts IMSuRT and DMAT teams, as well as disaster responders from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, The Brigham and Women's Hospital and the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.

OMI Co- Director and President Carter

At the request of US Diplomatic Mission to the Dominican Republic, The OMI completed a comprehensive medical plan supporting former President Jimmy Carter's recent visit to Haiti and Dominican Republic. The OMI co-director Dr Amado Alejandro Baez developed the Medical contingency plan and threat assessment matrix.  Dr. Baez also supported static and dynamic components of the Diplomatic Security Service and Secret Service Operations in collaboration with the Dominican Police Dignitary Protection Division.

 For more information please contact OMI