No Cost Health Services Offered to Haiti Relief Volunteers
MARCH 4, 2010
Martin’s Point Health Care recently announced it will waive all out-of-pocket costs for travel health services for Haiti relief workers. A list of frequently recommended services is included below.
To avoid serious illness, disaster relief workers are advised to get a number of vaccines, prescriptions and other items prior to traveling. However, these services can be very expensive and are often not covered by insurance. In addition, comprehensive travel services can be hard to find, especially when needed in urgent situations.
Martin’s Point is one of only three organizations in Maine and New Hampshire with a Certificate in Travel Health® from the International Society of Travel Medicine. Travel services are offered at Martin’s Point Portland, Maine and Portsmouth, NH, health centers.
To make it more affordable for Haiti relief workers to get the health care services they need, Martin’s Point Health Care will waive all out-of-pocket costs for Haiti-related travel health services for the next six months. Those seeking services must be associated with a relief organization or business providing charitable relief services.
“A lot of people don’t have health insurance coverage for these types of services, and we didn’t want that to pose a barrier for volunteers,” said Dr. Cowan Stark, President of Martin’s Point Medical Group and a travel medicine provider in the Martin’s Point Portsmouth practice.
The organization has seen an increase in the number of people seeking services for travel to Haiti in the past several weeks. “That’s probably because the kinds of people going now are working on reconstruction and rehabilitation like physical and occupational therapists, prosthetic manufacturers, and engineers. These people are less likely to have had the vaccinations needed and experience preparing for travel to Haiti than the medical relief workers that went right after the quake,” said Dr. Stark.
Martin’s Point has a long history of providing services to those traveling abroad. The organization has offered services for more than 10 years and in 2004 when Thailand was devastated by a monster Tsunami, Martin’s Point also waived out-of-pocket costs for relief workers.
Martin’s Point is also open to extending the same offer to volunteers heading to Chile and will continue to evaluate this as the need for volunteers in that country is better understood.
Recommended Services for Haiti Relief Workers
As part of its services, Martin’s Point offers pre-travel health care consultations as well as administers needed vaccinations. Travelers are counseled on ways to avoid contracting illnesses typically seen in the region to which they are traveling, and are advised on what medications and other health related products to bring along.
Volunteers headed to Haiti have received specific counseling on malaria and diarrhea prevention and advised to bring with them anti-malaria and anti-diarrhea medications, face masks, hand sanitizer and sunscreen.
The following is the list of vaccinations that may be recommended for relief workers heading to Haiti.
