CONCEPTS in Disaster Medicine Chicago Medical Response to the 2010 Earthquake in Haiti: Translating Academic Collaboration Into Direct Humanitarian Response Christine Babcock, MD, MSc; Carolyn Baer, MPH; Jamil D. Bayram, MD, MPH, EMDM; Stacey Chamberlain, MD, MPH; Jennifer L. Chan, MD, MPH; Shannon Galvin, MD; Jimin Kim, MSc; Melodie Kinet; Rashid F. Kysia, MD, MPH; Janet Lin, MD, MPH; Mamta Malik, MD, MPH; Robert L. Murphy, MD; C. Sola Olopade, MD, MPH; Christian Theodosis, MD, MPH ABSTRACT On January 12, 2010, a major earthquake in Haiti resulted in approximately 212 000 deaths, 300 000 injuries, and more than 1.2 million internally displaced people, making it the most devastating disaster in Haiti’s recorded history. Six academic medical centers from the city of Chicago established an interinstitutional collaborative initiative, the Chicago Medical Response, in partnership with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Haiti that provided a sus- tainable response, sending medical teams to Haiti on a weekly basis for several months. More than 475 medical vol- unteers were identified, of whom 158 were deployed to Haiti by April 1, 2010. This article presents the shared expe- riences, observations, and lessons learned by all of the participating institutions. Specifically, it describes the factors that provided the framework for the collaborative initiative, the communication networks that contributed to the on- going response, the operational aspects of deploying successive medical teams, and the benefits to the institutions as well as to the NGOs and Haitian medical system, along with the challenges facing those institutions individually and collectively. Academic medical institutions can provide a major reservoir of highly qualified volunteer medical personnel that complement the needs of NGOs in disasters for a sustainable medical response. Support of such col- laborative initiatives is required to ensure generalizability and sustainability. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2010;4:169-173) Key Words: Haiti, earthquake, medical disaster O n January 12, 2010, at 4:53 PM local time (21: 53:09 Coordinated Universal Time), a mag- nitude 7.2 on the Richter scale earthquake hit Haiti near Leogane, 17 km west of the capital Port-au- Prince. The impact of the earthquake on already- vulnerable communities and fragile infrastructure was more than 200 000 deaths and 300 000 injuries. 1 More than 1.2 million people were displaced and in need of basic services such as shelter, water, food, and health care. The immediate medical needs were catastrophic. Search and rescue teams gained access to people af- fected by the quake in the first few days, and the need for acute trauma and orthopedic services was im- mense. In the many weeks since the initial earth- quake, the needs have transitioned to ongoing public health issues, primary care, rehabilitation, reintegra- tion, and repatriation, which will, it is hoped, lead to critically sustained redevelopment for Haiti. In re- sponse to this humanitarian emergency came a global outpouring of disaster relief efforts through various non- governmental organizations (NGOs), monetary and in- kind donations, and volunteer medical professionals, in- cluding many from academic medical institutions in the United States. In Chicago, 6 institutions (Northwest- ern University, Rush University, University of Chi- cago, University of Illinois at Chicago, Children’s Me- morial Hospital, and Cook County Hospital [Stroger]) formed a collaborative initiative, the Chicago Medical Response, to respond to the disaster. This initiative in- cluded gathering more than 475 medical volunteers, of whom 158 were deployed to Haiti with established NGOs by April 1, 2010. Of the 158 personnel de- ployed, 68 (including 42 physicians and 22 nurses) were sent through International Medical Corps, and 90 were sent through other NGOs. Physicians’ specialties var- ied and included emergency medicine, trauma and or- thopedic surgeons, family medicine, internal medi- cine, and pediatrics. Nursing specialties also varied from acute care to inpatient general medical, surgical, and pediatric care to outpatient services. This article de- scribes the framework, implementation, and lessons learned from this academic collaborative initiative. FACTORS PROVIDING THE FRAMEWORK FOR THE CHICAGO MEDICAL RESPONSE The goal of the collaboration was for academic medi- cal centers across Chicago to use local resources in ways that were organized, effective, efficient, and respon- Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness 169 (Reprinted) ©2010 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.