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Update CMAT Assessment Team and Team One

CMAT's Field clinic in Ormoc City, Leyte.

CMAT’s Field clinic in Ormoc City, Leyte, Philippines – November 2013.

Update from CMAT Assessment Team and Medical Team 1 – Ormoc City – Near City Hall

The CMAT teams are based near City Hall in Ormoc City. As you may have been following on our social media, there was a delay getting our field hospital released from customs, and so it only arrived in Ormoc late last night.  This has not slowed down the team one bit. Yesterday they report seeing over 200 patients.

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Team 1 arrives in the Philippines. CMAT still needs your donations! Please Help!

CMAT Medical Team 1 arrives in Cebu. L-R Back Row: Dr. Rene Bollozos, Justin Law, Janice Stirling, Lydia Chang, Brandon Duncan, Dr. Rashad Chin, Kim Cossitt, Christina Coambs, Michael Parker. L-R Front Row: Tanya Correa, Kate Auger, Teresa Berdusco, Beverley Parker. Absent: Lesley Eltom.

CMAT Medical Team 1 arrives in Cebu. L-R Back Row: Dr. Rene Bollozos, Justin Law, Janice Stirling, Lydia Chang, Brandon Duncan, Dr. Rashad Chin, Kim Cossitt, Christina Coambs, Michael Parker.
L-R Front Row: Tanya Correa, Kate Auger, Teresa Berdusco, Beverley Parker. Absent: Lesley Eltom.

As Team 1 has now arrived in the Philippines and will be getting up and running any time now, we wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their generous donations. We truly could not do this without your support – both monetarily and through the donation of Aeroplan miles. In fact, we have 10 more days to hit 500,000 miles donated so Aeroplan will match them. If you’ve already donated – a huge thank you. If you haven’t, please consider donating as part of the Beyond Miles Aeroplan Campaign. For more information, you can visit: http://beyondmiles.aeroplan.com/eng/charity/252.

You can also donate through our website or through the CanadaHelps website at: https://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?charityID=s98486

Please know that CMAT is a registered charity that qualifies for the federal government matching of donations to the Philippines. Quite simply, every dollar you donate will be matched by the Canadian government. You can search for us here: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/chrts-gvng/lstngs/menu-eng.html

Once again, thank you for your support. It has made and will continue to make a real difference in the lives of thousands of people in the Philippines.

Team 1 Lands!

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Team 1 has landed in Cebu. Their cargo was delayed in Manila, but will be delivered later today. The team is now making their way to Ormoc, where they will get some sleep while they wait for the field hospital to arrive by military airlift.

CMAT Assessment team completes survey of central Leyte

CMAT Assessment Team members Martin Metz and Marty Quintia assess the infrastructure damage in Ormoc, Leyte.
CMAT Assessment Team members Martin Metz and Marty Quintia assess the infrastructure damage in Ormoc, Leyte.

Ormoc, Leyte, Philippines – Sunday November 17, 2013: The Assessment team arrived into the devastated region of Leyte early Sunday morning, and completed a survey of the city of Ormoc, as well as several rural villages in the environs.

The devastation in the region was nearly total, as homes and businesses could not withstand the wrath of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), which struck the region on November 8th.  Trees were toppled like toothpicks, and debris such as roofing material and branches clogged roads.  The electrical grid took the brunt of this storm, and early speculation is that power will not be restored to the island until at least the end of December.

The team visited the Ormoc District Hospital (ODH), the only public hospital in the city, and found that the majority of the structure did not survive the storm.  Even though the roof had been blown off, and windows smashed, patients continued to pour in, and were being treated in a makeshift manner in the hospital lobby.  The team encountered representatives from Mercy Malaysia and MSF, who had decided to set up their base of operations there, and will be converting the existing emergency room into an operating theatre and delivery room, while setting their field hospital tent up in the front yard of the ODH. At present, there is no projected timeframe for the rehabilitation of this facility.

The team continued on and visited Rural Health Units in Merida and Isabel, west of Ormoc, both of which were being staffed by redeployed Filipino staff from other provinces.  Both indicated that while they were seeing an influx of patients, the more seriously ill or injured patients had already travelled directly to Ormoc to seek treatment.

The wrath of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) is evident on the buildings of Ormoc. Roof sheets torn off by the wind are wrapped around trees.

The wrath of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) is evident on the buildings of Ormoc. Roof sheets torn off by the wind are wrapped around trees.

The team then returned to Ormoc, and toured the Ormoc Sugar Planters Association Farmer’s Hospital (OSPA).  This facility unfortunately lost 9 patients during the height of the storm, 4 when the ventilators lost power, and five when the roof collapsed. Similar to other facilities in the city, this hospital continues to see patients in a makeshift triage and emergency room housed in the lobby.

CMAT continues to liaiase with the World Health Organization and Filipino Department of Health – Health Cluster to evaluate the best and most appropriate locations with the highest needs, in anticipation of the arrival and deployment of the field hospital and first medical team in the coming days.

CMAT thanks its supporters for their generous donations.  We continue to encourage the generosity of our donors by contributing to our Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) Relief fund at  http://www.canadahelps.org/dn/16574 

We also continue to accept donated Air Canada Aeroplan miles,  please consider donating as part of the Beyond Miles Aeroplan Campaign. For more information, you can visit: http://beyondmiles.aeroplan.com/eng/charity/252.