Bicol Clinic: Disaster Relief

Our charity has established a disaster relief fund dedicated to supporting victims of natural disasters. As a result, we were the first medical team on the ground during the 2010 Haitian earthquake and were also able to send a medical relief team to the Philippines shortly after the 2013 typhoon.

Typhoon Haiyan, December 3013, Philippines

Super Typhoon Haiyan was one of the strongest storms in history. It struck the Philippines on November 8 and wrecked total havoc along its path of destruction. The storm killed over 1,800 people, severely injuring several thousand and displaced over half a million victims in the Philippines alone.

Because of your generous donations, BCF was able to send a medical relief team to the island of Leyte, where we provided medical attention to over 800 people. We also distributed food and supplies to over 6 thousand families and provided funds to rebuild a destroyed school.

Please click here for a detailed report of our efforts

Haitian Earthquake, January 2010, Port-au-Prince

Just days after the earthquake struck, we sent a disaster relief team to Port-au-Prince and were able to tend to hundreds of patients. Working from the University General Hospital of Haiti, our team administered IVs, created splints and casting of limbs, administered Tetanus shots, as well as antibiotic and pain shots. We did a lot of wound care to treat all of the infected wounds and amputated limbs. We helped to carry in new patients found in the rubble and were the first medical team to have provided food and water for the patients being cared for. We gave out toys for the children and clothing for all of the patients who had lost everything.

A first-hand account of the trauma experienced and the medical attention given was published in the Sun-Sentinel, written by Jessica Schuster, Executive Director of BCF. Jessica writes, "At night, I lay in my tent and I hear someone crying. The sound is so long and so mournful, so pleading and desperate. Is it from an insufferable injury? Or is it the lost of their family? I feel it is a cry for the loss of almost everything they had. All I know for certain is that the sound fills my days and haunts my dreams."

Read more here

The difference between our organization and most other charities is our ongoing commitment to the communities we serve. Since the devastating earthquake, we have returned to Haiti to conduct free medical clinics in various “tent cities.”

Please click here to read more about our efforts in the Sun-Sentinel: Sun Sentinal Haitians Amputees

Prior to the startup of our charity, Dr. Schuster conducted free clinics on his own in the Philippines, Somalia and Niger. He also went to Sri Lanka to assist in the immediate relief of the aftermath of the 2004 Tsunami.

Please click here to learn more about Dr. Schuster’s history and his Tsunami disaster relief efforts:

You can also learn more about our history and previous missions in the Boca Observer

Bicol Clinic Foundation, Inc.
Philippines, 2008

Prior to last summer, I could not have imagined what life was like for those living in the Philippines. Although I had traveled before to many places, I had never seen conditions like that of the people living near our clinic. Most people didn't have electricity, running water, or even a solid house. Many of the people there just live under a few sticks with a thatch roof, literally. I would go for a run once or twice a week down the street from where we lived and worked. On the run, I would see these homes of people with the mothers carrying laundry to the river and the kids running around with old tires and sticks. This was everyday life for them. There were daily chores that Americans have not thought about in over a hundred years. We just live our lives in such a lucky set of circumstances to be given all that we have. I do not feel that the Filipinos are unhappy how their lives are because that is how their lives are supposed to be. I would not say their lives were any less pleasurable or meaningful than that of Americans or any first world country, but in the Philippines, the simpler and more important things in life stand out.

I am currently a second year medical student at Tulane in New Orleans. At the time of the trip, I had just finished my first year, and knew very little about the clinical aspects of medicine. However, while working in the clinic, I was able to learn skills and perspective which I have been able to apply immensely to my curriculum thus far. Additionally, I intend to apply that same information throughout my career as a doctor. I was able to work for an entire month in the clinic allowing me to experience more than I could have ever imagined. I now feel comfortable with many of the aspects of medicine that used to seem so unfamiliar to me. I am not much of a writer, but I would have to end with one good memory I had while working. A young girl came into the clinic with a very high fever. She was fatigued and clearly not feeling well. To make a long story short, I assured the mother that we would help her daughter the best we could. I continued to give the girl an injection of medicine to reduce her fever and make her feel better. Although her fever did not subside quickly, I monitored her for a few hours, administering Tylenol when needed. The girl soon became more aware to her surroundings when her fever finally reduced to a more normal reading. Her mother was very grateful that we were able to help her daughter in her time of need. She was so thankful that she came back a couple days later with some coconut cookies that she had made for me. This story for me sums up the people of the region and they attitude for what we were doing by trying to help bring them some form of reliable health care. I would not have traded my experiences there for any.

Josh Denson
Tulane University
Medical School

*Note* Since the summer of 2011, Josh Denson has traveled to Haiti with the BCF twice, including immediately after the 2010 earthquake, and also to Nepal where he received a full rotation credit from Tulane University

Josh Denson

2008 View Josh' s testimonial

Mission The Disaster Relief- Team

Bicol Clinic: Disaster Relief

Typhoon Haiyan, December 3013, Philippines

Haitian Earthquake, January 2010, Port-au-Prince

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Josh Denson