How well are universities positioned to help with disaster relief?
A. Just as supplies are going to sit on the tarmac, it’s really possible for physicians to arrive in Haiti and sit on the tarmac and not have any effective way of helping out. At Dartmouth, we’ve been very fortunate to have been asked specifically by Partners in Health to supply specific kinds of physicians—trauma surgeons, orthopedic surgeons. When our physicians land on the ground, there are going to be very specific roles for them to take on. I think it’s great that so many physicians are anxious to go down there, but it’s going to take some time to establish facilities for physicians to be effective. Colleges and universities can certainly help, but they have to be sure when they get there, they are going to be help and not just clog up the system. Haiti right now needs a very focused and coordinated response. And just flying in because you feel bad is probably not a good idea. Q. What can colleges—and students and faculty and staff members—do to help, even if they don’t happen to
