Thomas Quickstad DDS Dentistry for All Ages

As I’d mentioned in previous blogs there is dental equipment that I sent from Seattle to the Albert Schweitzer Hospital (HAS) in July. This included a dental chair, patient light and delivery system (to run the drills and suction). My goal was to update the aging equipment in the dental clinic at HAS. Allison and I traveled to Haiti the night of October 12th and arrived in Port-au-Prince the afternoon of the 13th. We stayed at our favorite hotel, The Olaffson and the next day traveled to the hospital in Deschapelles. It’s typically about a 3 hour drive, but on Friday the 14th the traffic was terrible and it took 6 hours.

On Saturday the 16th I got up and immediately went to the depot where the equipment I’d sent down was supposed to be. Luckily, it had all made it in one piece. I talked to the head engineer, Jimmy, about getting things installed in the clinic. He was very helpful and peeled some guys away from other projects to help remove old equipment and ultimately install the new equipment. It took three days, but in the end the clinic had a new white tile floor and the equipment I sent down was ready to work.

On Tuesday morning I treated my first patient using the new equipment. It was a great feeling having my dreams of a better clinic come true.