VZCZCXYZ0006
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDG #0051/01 0362003
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O R 052003Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0723
INFO RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHEHWSR/WHITE HOUSE SITUATION ROOM WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RUEHBH/AMEMBASSY NASSAU
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS
RUEHDG/AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO
RUEHKG/AMEMBASSY KINGSTON
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID 0025
RUEHPU/AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE
RUEHSP/AMEMBASSY PORT OF SPAIN
RUEHUB/USINT HAVANA 0088
RUEHWN/AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 000051 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV AMED SMIG AEMR AORC HA DR
SUBJECT: GODR Health Assistance Following Haiti Earthquake 
 
REF: A) SDO 156, B) SDO 15, C) SDO 45 
 
¶1. Summary:  On 04 Feb 2010, the Dominican Public Health Ministry 
(SESPAS) provided the Embassy statistics indicating that 50,647 
people have received some kind of medical attention (29,467 
vaccinated, plus 21,180 others) in the "framework" of the GoDR's 
"Contingency Plan to Help Haiti."  SESPAS had previously publicly 
stated that over 30,000 people had received medical attention in 
the Dominican Republic since the 12 Jan 2010 earthquake.   However, 
these statistics apparently include those assisted by the many 
international medical volunteers working in the DR and the border 
region. Finally, there are signs GODR authorities wish to wind down 
the U.S. and internationally staffed  "Good Samaritan" medical 
facility's operations in Jimani, as well as to move more Haitians 
back to one or more places within Haiti.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  According to figures provided by the Public Health Ministry to 
the Embassy on 04 Feb 2010, a total of 29,467 people had received 
vaccinations of various sorts (e.g., for diphtheria and tetanus) 
and another 13,612 had received "medical attention" from "mobile 
units" by 25 January.  Another 848 had had "mental health 
consultations."  Slightly more updated figures (as of 03 Feb) were 
available regarding the number of people who had been hospitalized 
at some point:  A total of 6,720 had received "medical attention" 
in hospitals, according to SESPAS.   However, by 04 Feb 2010, just 
633 persons remained hospitalized in "health facilities of the 
Public Health Ministry," said SESPAS.  Of those, 225 are reported 
to be at the camp in Fond Parisien, Haiti (reftels A - C).  The 
next largest group (129) is at the "Good Samaritan" medical 
facility in Jimani, where there is also a 26-bed municipal hospital 
or clinic.  (Note:  In Fond Parisien, the facility is a field 
hospital, with over 200 injured Haitians, located on the property 
of a faith-based NGO called "Love a Child."  It is managed by the 
Harvard Humanitarian Initiative.   As for the Good Samaritan 
facility in Jimani, it is actually a make-shift facility 
established in a previously empty building, and staffed mostly by 
American  and international medical volunteers from various 
non-governmental entities.  At the same time,  USAID has been 
providing some support to the Good Samaritan facility, including 
the delivery of 118 bed frames and mattresses, two trucks and a 
mini-bus for transporting patients and two large tents for storing 
medical supplies and for a commercial kitchen to be used once free 
food service from the GoDR ends.   End Note) 
 
¶3.  A few days earlier, Public Health Minister Bautista Rojas Gomez 
announced the immediate disbursement of 160,000,000 pesos (USD 
4,384,000) to refurbish hospitals along the border.   Among the 
hospitals to receive funds are San Bartolome in Neyba, Elio Fiallo 
in Pedernales and a hospital in the town of Galvan.   He also 
reported that the Dominican Government (GoDR) has spent over 
428,000,000 pesos (USD 11,725,000) to care for victims of the 
earthquake.    According to data received from SESPAS, the money 
was spent on medicines, fuel and transport, and medical equipment 
(e.g., ventilators, autoclaves, portable x-ray machines, hospital 
beds, sheets and blood products), to "reinforce intensive care 
units."   (Comment: There were no reports just after the earthquake 
that medical facilities, unlike a few schools, were damaged.  It is 
not surprising, however, that refurbishment or additional equipment 
might be needed.  End Comment) 
 
¶4.  Rojas also acted promptly to undercut sensationalist press 
coverage following the death from bacterial meningitis of a 
Dominican pastor who helped build shelters in Haiti.  He explained 
that no additional cases of meningitis had yet been discovered, 
even among the individuals who had accompanied the pastor in Haiti, 
and that, as a precaution, he had placed the border region on 
epidemiological alert.  Additional measures being taken include: 
monitoring the eight doctors who treated the pastor and providing 
anti-malarial drugs to all patients who come from Haiti (although 
malaria season has yet to arrive).  Health workers potentially 
exposed to the blood of patients are receiving anti-HIV prophylaxis 
treatment.   Meanwhile, U.S. agencies and other assistance 
organization are also taking measures to minimize the risk of 
malaria and tetanus. 
 
¶5.  The Health Minister gave instructions a week or so ago to 
Dominican medical facilities that they should not discharge 
patients too quickly after surgeries, so as to minimize subsequent 
infections.  However, SESPAS has now decided to put an end to new 
surgeries and admittances to the Good Samaritan facility and 
Dominican migration authorities are pressuring the Good Samaritan 
staff to move out the family members that are lingering by their 
patients. That hospital planned voluntarily moving 60 to 100 
Haitians to an American Refugee Commission camp site in Fond 
Parisien  (which is in a field adjacent to the Good Samaritan) on 
04 Feb 2010.  Meanwhile, media reports also indicate that thousands 
of Haitians who have undergone amputations need longer-term 
assistance, first to survive and then to be rehabilitated as much 
as possible.  Mental health services are also lacking at the 
present time in the border region.  These challenges are in 
addition to the growing one of finding or establishing shelter for 
those patients who no longer need to be in hospital, but lack 
somewhere to go. 
 
¶6. (SBU) COMMENT:  There is no question but that the GoDR and many 
Dominicans have "stepped up to the plate" to assist Haitian and 
other victims of the earthquake, as have the U.S. Government and 
many governments, NGOs  and individuals from around the world. 
The total number of persons (i.e., 50,647) assisted, per SESPAS, in 
the context of what Dominicans call the "Contingency Plan to Help 
Haiti," is impressive but apparently includes those assisted by the 
many international medical volunteers working in the DR and the 
border region.  Also, it is not clear to Post exactly when and 
where all the 29,467 vaccines were administered.  END COMMENT. 
 
¶7. Minimize Considered. 
Lambert