DART medics at work outside Haitian capital
Canada's Disaster Assistance Relief Team began sending members into the field Sunday to help Haitians in remote areas.
The DART sent out a mobile medical team for the first time in Haiti since arriving in Port-au-Prince following the Jan. 12 earthquake. The team spent the day in a small community called Tom Gato, about 15 kilometres from the village of Leogane.
In an email, Canadian Forces Maj. Bernard Dionne said the area was assessed as one where many Haitians suffered earthquake-related injuries.
The mobile medical teams consist of 13 medical personnel, plus a few soldiers to offer protection. They treated between 130 and 140 patients for fractured arms, broken hips, one broken pelvis and other injuries, said Capt. Rob Ennis, a Canadian Forces doctor based at CFB Gagetown, N.B.
"I never saw so many smiles on the med-techs' faces as there was at the end of the day," he said.
"It was a fantastic day for all of us."
The military plans to send one team out each day and will use helicopters to get into areas where no road access is available, Dionne said.
The concept was used successfully in Pakistan after that country was hard hit by an earthquake in 2005, he said.