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Haiti trip focuses on maintaining records by Maggie Diebolt Public Relations The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere may not come to mind as a preferred travel destination, but for Ronald Nickel, Ph.D., and a team of volunteers, doctors and medical students, Haiti was the first choice for their medical mission trip.   The Haiti medical mission trip included volunteers from Eastbridge Presbyterian Church, which Nickel has attended for years, along with participants from the Indialantic Baptist Church, based in Florida.   Nickel, of MUSC’s College of Pharmacy, was accompanied by nine other team members including MUSC graduates Tommy McDonald, M.D.; Grady Adkins, M.D.; Erin Rosser, physician assistant ; and Ginger Simpkins, occupational therapist . They worked in northern Haiti Aug. 8-15, an area with only two hospitals for its 2 million residents. Despite their short trip, they were able to treat more than 1,200 patients and fill more than 2,500 prescriptions.   Lisa Cordes, an MUSC fourth-year pharmacy student, learned about the trip through the Christian Pharmacists Fellowship International (CPFI) organization.   Dr. Ronald Nickel, front left, and volunteers travel by truck during their medical mission trip to Haiti. “The Haiti medical mission trip was an eye-opening experience that everyone, especially medical students, should experience at least once in their lifetime. My time in Haiti has reminded me why I chose a career in the medical profession,” she said.   The team spent two days working in Milot, and two days working in BeClaire, where the target population consisted of community members and children enrolled in Good Shepherd Ministries’ Schools. While the team of volunteers worked in Haiti, the clinics were overrun with patients eager to be seen by doctors. The medical mission team performed general exams, recorded patients’ height and weight and treated common, acute medical conditions, including infections, parasites, dermatologic conditions, minor injuries and pain. The team also provided prescription and non-prescription medication to their Haitian patients.   While Haiti may not boast modern, upscale accommodations, the team members expressed pleasure over the food and satisfaction with the dorm-like accommodations. They were transported from one clinic to the next by bus. Since French and Creole are more commonly spoken in Haiti, translators communicated between patients and volunteers.   One of the primary goals of the trip was to support the Indiatlantic Baptist Church in establishing and maintaining medical records, and to continue seeing patients on a regular basis as medical mission teams visited northern Haiti.   “You feel the investment of time and effort was in doing something worthwhile,” said Nickel, who has worked at MUSC since 1987. It was his second trip to Haiti, having first visited there five years ago. That trip was another mission trip organized on behalf of the Eastbridge Presbyterian Church. At that time, he encountered the community of Milot and worked to repair some of the church mission’s buildings.   Nickel, along with the CPFI, has been working the past few years to organize a Christmas care package drive in which volunteers can donate clothes, toys and certain food items to be sent to children in the Good Shepherd Mission in Haiti. Last year, 103 packages were sent to Haitian children.   “These kids have as close to nothing as you can imagine,” Nickel said. “The average income is $3 a day,” which is not much considering that 80 percent of the population lives in abject poverty.   To learn more about donating to the Haiti Christmas care package drive, or to find out about future  medical mission trip opportunities to Haiti, contact nickelr@musc.edu.     Friday, Oct. 3, 2006 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.