Medical volunteers headed to Haiti

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January 17, 2003
Sentinel staff report

Local residents will fly to Haiti next month on a mission of mercy.
A team of 16 volunteers, headed by physician William Mears of Scotts Valley, will provide free medical care at clinics in Meyotte, a suburb of Port-au-Prince, and at Legonne, a remote area in the mountains.
In Haiti, per capita income is $250 a year and medical care is hard to get. Last January, a medical team from Felton that traveled to the island nation treated many patients for diseases that are virtually unknown in the United States. An estimated 5 percent of the population is infected with AIDS/HIV, and about 97 out of 1,000 babies die in infancy, according to the local volunteers.
Volunteers also will paint a clinic building, build desks for students, and improve plumbing at a home for homeless boys.
They are seeking donations to help pay for medical and construction supplies. For information, call Sue Johnson, a nurse on the volunteer team, at 335-4506, or the St. Lawrence Orthodox Church office, 335-0300.