Needed Medical Supplies Flown From Opa-locka Executive Airport To Haiti
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A life-saving flight with needed medical supplies left Opa-locka Executive Airport Thursday morning bound for Haiti.
Following last weekend's 7.2 earthquake that killed more than 2,200 people and destroyed more than 75,000 homes and businesses, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) worked with their medical team on the ground in Haiti to determine which items were critically needed by healthcare centers, hospitals, and other medical facilities to address the medical needs of those impacted.
Items that were sent included generators, since there is no electricity in hospitals in the impacted area, medical supplies, aspirin, and other critical medications.
"When the earthquake happened our SOS alarms went off within about 10 minutes. We immediately activated our emergency response staff, we are first responders throughout Latin America. The community quickly came together. This is the first of several flights going to Haiti. This one prioritized is actually a smaller aircraft than what the other ones will be because the focus of this flight is to get the life-saving materials into the hands of the doctors, the hospitals, and the first responders and also to provide water," AHF Southern Bureau Chief Michael Kahane.
Water bottles are too large so they sent purification kits, about ten thousand of them, so people will have water for the next 30 days.
"We live in really divisive times and it's so refreshing to see people come together to help other people," said Kahane.
Once the supplies arrive in Port-au-Prince, the materials will be broken up and taken into those impacted communities in the south via smaller planes. People with very severe injuries will be taken back to Port-au-Prince.
AHF has charted a second flight that will carry the thousands of pounds of items needed by families, children, and those with critical illnesses. It will depart on Wednesday, August 25th.
Click here for a list of organizations gathering funds and supplies to help those in need in Haiti.
