At the hospital, the doctors and nurses from Cooper saw patients with oozing wounds, laid out on the ground because every hospital bed was occupied. They saw dazed Haitians enduring pain because there was no medication to ease it.
They checked in with Marc Vanwynsberghe, a U.N. specialist in disaster preparedness, for an assessment of the medical and security situation. They then regrouped and weighed their options: Set up camp here to help with the Haitian refugees flowing in or continue to explore the possibility of safe passage to Leogane, west of Port-au-Prince, where the need may be even greater.
Sam Negin, 44, of Cherry Hill, a trauma specialist who served with the Army in Iraq, was for staying: "I think we commit to here. We can make a difference."
Josh Torres-Cruz, 30, an emergency-room doctor whose ability to speak Spanish has been invaluable in the Dominican Republic, said staying would work for the team only if it was given control over triage. But others noted that they had to be sensitive to being perceived as taking over from the locals, and Torres-Cruz agreed.
For agonizing minutes the group stood in a circle on a muddy field near the hospital, then retreated to a nearby hotel to continue debate, hoping to reach consensus by first light.
Anthony Mazzarelli, Cooper's emergency services director, noted the difference between planning for the mission and then acting once on the ground. Up close and facing the consequences of the disaster "is when it gets harder," said Mazzarelli, 34.
Team members knew one another pretty well before the mission. But now, in their third day since departing on Sunday, they know one another even better.
