A week after a catastrophic earthquake in Haiti, the orthopedic industry is mobilizing to help.
Alphatec Spine, DePuy, Medtronic, Smith & Nephew and Synthes are among the companies contributing money and surgical supplies in the wake of the crisis. Synthes also donated air travel for a medical team from Hospital for Special Surgery to tend to trauma patients in Haiti. Dr. David Helfet, the chair of HealthpointCapital's Scientific Advisory Board, is one of the leaders of the HSS team, and he describes the rudimentary conditions doctors are facing on the ground in Haiti. "We had to quickly adjust from the high-tech Hospital for Special Surgery environment with the most state-of-the-art radiologic and surgical equipment to a makeshift hospital where we are trying to save lives and limbs."
Yesterday Smith & Nephew announced that they would donate more than $2.0 million in implants and surgical instruments to physicians aiding the victims of the earthquake. The company is working with Hope Force International to distribute its donated supplies, and in their press release, they encourage surgeons heading to Haiti to contact HFI about how to help.
In the wake of this humanitarian crisis, the orthopedic industry is rising to a harrowing challenge. As Louis Shapiro, President and CEO of Hospital for Special Surgery, notes, "It's in times like these that we need to act with skill and compassion."
