Boston College student Alison Quinn during her first trip to Haiti last year. She will be returning there later this month with Circle of Hope to help the organization continue its efforts to aid victims of last month’s earthquake.
Bringing Hope, and Help, to a Battered Land
Boston College student Alison Quinn is headed to Haiti to volunteer with Circle of Hope to help the people impacted by the earthquake
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Alison Quinn, a student in the Graduate School of Social Work and Connell School of Nursing joint degree program, is preparing to put her skills to work in a place where they are sorely needed. On Feb. 21, she will head off to Haiti with Circle of Hope www.circleofhopeonline.org, an organization of doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses and medical staff that regularly goes to Leogane, a city outside of Port au Prince. She spoke with Chronicle last week about her forthcoming visit.What kinds of tasks do you expect to be doing with Circle of Hope?
We had actually been scheduled to go in January to provide basic medical care including diabetes management, blood pressure control and infectious disease treatment. But the arrangements changed and the date got pushed back. Our work will definitely be different: I anticipate a lot of wound treatment, infection control, and providing post-surgical care for patients. I almost think we have to have zero expectations — one nurse that is down there now e-mailed our group last night saying that she had just delivered a baby. So I think we have to be open to anything and everything.
How did the opportunity come about? Do you have any previous connection with Haiti?
[Clinical Instructor in Community Health Nursing] Donna Cullinan, my faculty advisor and mentor, goes regularly to Haiti with this organization and typically brings a student along with her. I was fortunate to be that student this year. I have been to Haiti once before — last June, when I traveled with my fiancé and a priest friend based in Chelsea, Fr. Jim Barry, as part of a parish-twinning program aimed at building solidarity between the Haitian community in Chelsea and a parish in Lazile where many have emigrated from. It was then that I truly fell in love with the Haitian country and its people, and jumped at the opportunity to go back.
Obviously, a lot can happen between now and Feb. 21, but what are your expectations and concerns as to what you’ll find when you get to Haiti?
I think the biggest thing I am concerned about relates to logistical issues. I am getting regular e-mails from other medical professionals that have relations with Circle of Hope and are in Haiti currently.
One e-mail I received last night mentioned that medical teams are flooding in from all over the world and there are many logistical issues around coordinating care. For instance, as far as I know, the Germans, Japanese, Cubans, Canadians and Americans all have set up operating suites in Leogane and there is a 50-bed mobile hospital on its way in the next two to three days, but no one knows then the next medical group may appear. There have been some efforts in organizing the volunteer teams, primarily by the US Embassy and Haitian Ministry of Health, and hopefully there will be more structured coordination in the upcoming weeks.
Other than that, I know very little else. I know that there is no real shelter for the citizens of Leogane as well as for the medical staff, and I know that most are sleeping outdoors alongside the Haitian community. I know that I am supposed to bring my own food with me.
I think, personally, the issue I anticipate encountering the most will be staying calm and focused on the patients in front of me. In the midst of what I imagine will be overwhelming pain and loss, I hope that I can stay centered on the people I am treating as emotions run high in the community.