I was in Haiti from 1/20 to 1/31 with a first response disaster organization called nycmedics(see www.nycmedics.org)
the goal of this organization is to be on the ground as quickly as possible after an international disaster. they are completely self supported including all gear,food, tents, etc and are willing to rough it and eat camping food and use water purifiers if needed. we slept in the driveway of an abandoned house(with the permission of the owner) which still had an intact perimeter fence and gate so security was not an issue.
we ran a series of clinics out of abandoned schools, etc and took walk in pts(up to 400/day) in addition to going into the tent cities and evacuating patients who would otherwise not have been seen at all. the most critical of these we stabilized and transfered to field hospitals set up by the U.S. and other nations.
The organization was started by a group of nyc medics but now also includes er docs/pa's/nurses.
an early response can work, but as you said it needs to be coordinated and prepared for all contingencies. we did see a group of firefighters who came down on their own without a plan who ended up begging for jobs and food at a field hospital so a structured approach is key.

I just returned from Haiti. Dr Brad Moyer and I were contacted by a nurse we work with in the emergency department. Her church, Gods Missionary Church, has had a Missionary in Carrefour, Haiti for the past 10 years. On the mission grounds over 1250 people showed up after the earthquake looking for a place to stay, food, water and medical assistance. We were able to put together about 1000 pounds of medical supplies and gain access to Port au Prince, Haiti thru Missionary Flights International. We stayed for a week and many other physicians, nurses and support staff from our hospital and community continue to go and staff the clinic we established in a school house on the mission grounds. We treated hundreds of patients that had severe injuries who had no other care available to them at that time. We established connections with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) (Doctors Without Borders) after arriving in Haiti, and used them as our referral hospital for those we saw that needed emergency surgery. The opportunity for us to go to Haiti came through an organization that was well established in the community. They were able to offer us shelter and safety. We were well taken care of during our stay.

http://pahomepage.com/content/fulltext/? cid=122832

http://www.godsmissionarychurch.com/

jdevine@evanhospital.com

Scott thanks for your note - looks like your group has its act together...I will suggest our residents contact them about this and future events! MEL

Thanks for the interesting post, Mel. Please keep up the great work.
I am ED doc who just returned from several days of relief work in Port-au-Prince. I went with [b]Heart to Heart International[/b] and had a very positive experience. You are right about the lack of medical infrastructure and safety issues in Haiti. The sad thing is that infrastructure, i.e. hospitals, is not going to be available for a LONG time. With the right planning and the right connections, doctors, nurses, and other medical providers can provide much needed help to the earthquake victims. We all need to do our part.

You may be interested in seeing a recent interview I gave by clicking the link below.

Thanks!

http://videos.kansascity.com/vmix_hosted_apps/p/ media?id=9827905

Heart to Heart International is a fantastic grassroots volunteer and humanitarian organization that is helping the Haitians right now:

http://www.hearttoheart.org/