Bringing Healing to Haiti

After the January 2010 disaster in Haiti, Jan Kass, RN, a certified wound ostomy nurse at Sharp Coronado Hospital, responded to a request for help to aid in treating the 300,000 injured earthquake victims. Equipped with the advanced clinical skills she acquired at the hospital, Kass arrived in Port-au-Prince with several other clinicians to treat an endless stream of patients.

“We saw a lot of orthopedic crush injuries; many were infected,” Kass said. “The stories of pain and loss were staggering.”

Since 2010, Kass has made four trips to Haiti where she treated earthquake injuries, led wound care rounds, assisted in teaching basic cardiac life support and treated children’s congenital diseases. 

Kass said she fell in love with the Haitian people, and admires their resilience.

“The organizations I’m working with, in addition to so many others, are trying to develop the next generation of professionals that will help move Haiti forward,” Kass said.

For her volunteer work in Haiti and her commitment to patient-centered care, Kass was recently awarded a 2011 Spirit of Planetree Award. Planetree is a not-for-profit organization that partners with health care organizations to advance patient-centered approaches to care. Kass is also a recent recipient of the Legend award from Soroptimist International of Coronado.

Kass said she hopes her story will inspire others to lend a hand where it’s needed.

“As we become more global, we need to pay attention to the fact that we’re the lucky ones. It is our responsibility to give back to the community, which expands beyond our borders,” Kass said.