State hospitals to treat severely hurt Haitians

HARRISBURG - At the urging of state officials, at least 11 Pennsylvania hospitals, including several in the Philadelphia area, are opening their doors to treat Haitians who were severely injured in last month's earthquake, Gov. Rendell and state Health Secretary Everette James said yesterday.

Rendell wrote to federal officials to say that Pennsylvania hospitals would treat Haitian victims, thereby helping Florida hospitals, which are overwhelmed with at least 600 Haitians badly hurt in the Jan. 12 quake.

Those coming to Pennsylvania will be treated for wounds such as severe burns, spinal-cord injuries, head trauma, and amputated limbs.

"Pennsylvania stands ready to support these severely injured Haitian patients and their families regardless of federal reimbursement," Rendell said in a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

He said state officials got a call last week from the U.S. Transportation Command "requesting that Pennsylvania accept Haitian trauma patients."

State Health Department spokeswoman Stacey Kriedeman said the list of hospitals willing to take the victims is likely to grow.

Philadelphia-area hospitals on the list yesterday included Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania; St. Christopher's Hospital for Children; Temple University Hospital; Abington Memorial Hospital in Abington; Grand View Hospital in Sellersville; and Mercy Suburban Hospital in Norristown.

The list also included the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, West Penn Allegheny Health System in Pittsburgh, St. Vincent Health System in Erie, and Ephrata Community Hospital in Lancaster County.

Hospitals in several other states in the Northeast also have been asked to help, Rendell said.

The U.S. military has resumed urgent medical evacuation flights out of Haiti for earthquake victims. An Army spokesman said a flight left Haiti for the United States Sunday night, almost five days after flights were suspended due to disputes over space and health costs at American hospitals.

As a result of the logjam, some of the sick were taken out of the country by private groups. On Sunday, the Boston-based aid group Partners in Health helped bring three Haitian children to Philadelphia hospitals.

Rendell said that he hoped the federal government would cover all the expenses at Pennsylvania hospitals, but that if it didn't, he would ask for private contributions to cover the costs.

"It isn't good if [the state budget] has to absorb certain costs, but there are certain things we don't stop doing," he said. "That's what we're here for. We can't turn our back on people who are sick and disabled. We want to make sure these people get the appropriate medical care."

Rendell said he had asked federal officials for guidance "regarding immigration status for the Haitians entering the U.S."

Carolyn Scanlon of the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania is working with the state to identify medical services available at hospitals across the state.