As part of the ongoing medical response to the
Haiti earthquake, USAID, the agency coordinating the U.S. Government response, announced today that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has activated additional components of the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) to help U.S. hospitals provide care to critically ill survivors.
"Medical evacuations have only been used in limited instances where patients had medical needs that could not be met in Haiti," said USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah. "We are committed to working with Haitian people and the Government of Haiti to create long-term care facilities in-country. Continued medical assistance is critical to these efforts. We will continue to work across the whole of the U.S. Government and with international partners, and NGO partners to ensure the well-being of the Haitian people is the foremost priority.
This activation will allow U.S. hospitals that treat Haitian patients evacuated with life-threatening injuries due to the earthquake, to receive federal reimbursement for the costs they incur. The first NDMS flight could leave Haiti as early as tomorrow.
"States have been tremendous partners in the response effort to the devastating earthquake in Haiti," said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. "This is part of our larger strategy, working with the government of Haiti and our international partners, to help increase the capacity both inside Haiti, as well as in the U.S. and other countries, to help Haitians who need critical medical assistance."
Haitian and American patients will be referred by Haitian hospitals, NGOs, the USNS Comfort, or other facilities if they meet criteria for evacuation. These evacuations are being reserved for the rare patients with life-threatening conditions that cannot be handled within Haiti or by evacuation to another country. There must also be a reasonable chance that the patient can survive the flight and the treatment in the U.S.