[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 2385-2386]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             RECOGNIZING DR. BARTH GREEN'S EFFORTS IN HAITI

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to recognize the 
tremendous contributions of the relief efforts in Haiti made by Dr. 
Barth Green and the University of Miami's Global Institute's Project 
Medishare and the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami. 
When Haiti was devastated by the earthquake which struck on January 12, 
Dr. Barth Green, cofounder of the UM Global Institute's Project 
Medishare for Haiti, and a team of 11 doctors and nurses immediately 
sprung into action. Arriving the very next day, they were the first 
medical team in Haiti following this catastrophic earthquake, and 
within less than 24 hours at the request of Haitian President Rene 
Preval and the Haitian Ministry of Health, Project Medishare had set up 
a field trauma hospital on the grounds of the Port-au-Prince Airport. 
This 300-bed critical care hospital is now reportedly the country's 
largest functioning urgent care hospital. It is working closely with 
the U.S. military in Haiti, providing important triage services in 
collaboration with the U.S. Navy ship Comfort.
  Under Dr. Green's leadership, Project Medishare has deployed over 500 
medical, administrative and logistical personnel to staff the hospital, 
and they have effectively treated hundreds of patients on a daily 
basis. So far, more than 2,000 earthquake survivors have received care 
at the University of Miami Hospital. In addition, the Project Medishare 
UM Global Institute Hospital has served as an important clearing house 
and staging point for medical evaluations and for other hospitals that 
are operating in the Port-au-Prince area.
  But it doesn't stop there, Mr. Speaker. Because Project Medishare has 
been engaged in health and development work in Haiti for over 15 years, 
they were able to quickly grow their emergency response efforts across 
all of Haiti. They were able to expand their longstanding programs in 
Cap Haitien and in the central plateau to care for earthquake-injured 
individuals who had left the capital city to be with their families 
elsewhere.
  Similarly, because the UM Global Institute has been working in Haiti 
for nearly 40 years now, it is uniquely positioned to work with the 
Government of Haiti, the U.S. military and other organizations to help 
organize medical teams on the ground and implement field hospital plans 
around the capital city.

                              {time}  1900

  Notably, Project Medishare is also making an effort to integrate 
medical staff with the Haitian Ministry of Health and other local 
Haitian doctors and nurses in an effort to better train each other.
  As Dr. Green himself explained, ``We're beginning to train our 
Haitian colleagues so, when we hand off these hospitals in the next 
couple of months, they'll be there forever. We're not rebuilding Haiti 
the way it was; we're rebuilding a different Haiti.''
  Dr. Green has also said that they plan to leave with your colleagues 
in Haiti every piece of the transported equipment used for their relief 
efforts. This will help to transition the immediate relief assistance 
they have provided into real, longstanding, sustainable progress for 
the people of Haiti.
  I was so proud to coordinate Dr. Green's efforts with our U.S. 
military personnel on the ground and in my district at the U.S. 
Southern Command. I applaud the many individuals who have participated 
in the relief efforts headed by Dr. Green, by the University of Miami, 
by the Global Institute's Project Medishare, and by the U.M. Miller 
School of Medicine. The work of private individuals and organizations 
such as these is key to the broader U.S. response to the crisis in 
Haiti.
  Again, I would like to recognize the tremendous contributions made by 
Dr.

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Green and his partners at the University of Miami, especially U.M. 
President Donna Shalala, to the relief efforts in Haiti. My sincere 
gratitude for their selfless dedication to this cause. Congratulations, 
U.M.; congratulations, Mr. Barth Green.

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