Local groups respond to Haiti disaster

Local organizations continue to play an active role in Haitian relief efforts.

Supplies and medical teams have been sent to the earthquake-devastated nation by groups based in Johnson County while other local organizations are working to raise funds to lend financial support.

Leawood-based One5 Foundation dispatched its third medical support team to the country late last week. It also has delivered shipments of supplies.

Heart to Heart International, based in Olathe, is another medical relief organization sending medical personnel and supplies.

Lending significant financial assistance to Heart to Heart through its fundraising efforts has been The Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, which is located in Overland Park. As of Monday, the group reported donations of $34,000.

Federation officials said all donations are going to relief efforts and none will pay for administrative costs.

Circumstances in the island nation remain dire, but they also keep changing and evolving in ways that force organizations to adapt and shift focus.

“Needs are different now, because a lot of relief efforts are in Port-au-Prince where there now is not enough work for some surgeons,” said Brandon Tasset, a One5 board member. “We believe a lot of people are in the outer-lying areas who still have had no medical help at all. So we’re trying to assess how to reach out to those other areas.”

The latest relief crew dispatched to Haiti by One5 was an orthopedic surgery team that included two surgeons and several nurses.

Tasset said the next team probably would be one comprised of family physicians.

“That will be the next wave needed down there. People who have had surgeries possibly are not going to realize that they need to come back to a doctor for post-operative stuff. If they don’t, there could be infections. Finding those people and addressing that need is what that team would be doing,” Tasset said.

Publicity about One5’s efforts has generated donations as well as offers to volunteer.

One5 was started two years ago by Nueterra Health Care founders Dan and Sheila Tasset. The clinic staff is actively engaged in the teams, but doctors outside Nueterra also are involved. In fact, to build a family practice team, One5 will need to rely on doctors from elsewhere because Nueterra is a surgical clinic.

Brandon Tasset said needs for personnel have been filled in many cases by volunteers who learned about One5 through media reports and then called the agency. If future help is not obtained in that way, Tasset said cold calls will be made in the medical community to recruit volunteers.

Efforts in Haiti are not new for the organization. Last year, One5 worked with medical clinics, schools and orphanages there, and several board members visited the capital city in November.

Jewish Federation officials have been gratified by the outpouring of support that its fundraising efforts have received.

Contributions can be made online at www.jewishkansascity.org or mailed to the Jewish Federation of Kansas City, Attn: Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund, 5801 W. 115th St., Suite 201, Overland Park, KS 66211. The group also is garnering collections via social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Contact Loren Stanton at 385-6068, or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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