N.L. volunteer doctors wait anxiously to help in Haiti as violence rages

Medical professionals from Newfoundland and Labrador are closely monitoring Haiti and waiting until it's safe enough to fly in and help, says Dr. Art Rideout of St. John's.

Chaos reigns in Haiti as gangs have forced the prime minister to resign, burned police stations and released thousands of prisoners. Rideout says he's worried about his friends and colleagues who are trapped on the island.

"For us, to be able to deliver what we do best, it involves a level of security for not just the people on the ground, but our volunteers too," Rideout said.

"So we're patiently waiting for the world to come together again to help and assist those in Haiti so that we can do what we do best."

Rideout says he's taken at least 20 trips to Haiti as part of Team Broken Earth, an organization made up of volunteer doctors, nurses and other medical care providers, founded in 2010 when Haiti suffered a devastating earthquake.

Even though they can't assist on the ground at the moment, the organization is raising funds through its third annual Music is Medicine concert, at Holy Heart Theatre in St. John's on March 23.

"You get to see the hidden talents of our medical professionals and people connected to medicine," said Rideout, CEO and co-founder of Team Broken Earth.

The funds will go to support medical care in Haiti, he says.

He's heard recently from his contacts on the ground in a hospital located in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, about the unending violence, which is just one challenge the local staff has to deal with, along with limited medical supplies, clean water, food, and rampant diseases like cholera.

The news has left the team waiting anxiously until it's secure enough to help.

"They're just another island in the Atlantic. And I think that's that shared responsibility of helping each other," he said.

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