Haitian orphans arrive at Children’s Hospital

Three busloads of Haitian orphans and volunteers unloaded outside Children’s Hospital of… Three busloads of Haitian orphans and volunteers unloaded outside Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC about an hour ago in one of the nation’s first efforts to bring victims of last week’s earthquake to the United States.

Volunteers escorted the 53 Haitian refugees from Port Authority buses to the hospital’s Emergency Room, where doctors and nurses began evaluating their condition.

Chris Gessner, president of Children’s Hospital, said the hospital will organize the children’s arrival as if it were treating a mass casualty. He expected most of the children to be in good condition. A few, he said, could have diarrhea or be dehydrated, in which case they’d be treated with fluids.

After the children undergo medical exams, they will move into a hospital conference room, which has been made into a “comfort room” where the children can eat, play and escape from the wind and cold. From there, Allegheny County Children and Youth Services will take over, organizing foster homes and other legal aspects of the children’s visits.

Gessner said he hoped to have all of the children processed within four to 24 hours.

The children arrived at the Pittsburgh International Airport around 9:15 this morning, after flying from Haiti to Miami, where they caught their connecting flight to Pittsburgh. They reached the Children’s Hospital around 11 a.m. The children ranged from toddlers to pre-teens. Some slept as volunteers walked them from their seats in Port Authority buses into the hospital’s Emergency Room. Others walked in, holding hands with volunteers from Catholic Charities, among other organizations. A few children mugged for the dozen or so news crews who were there. Nearly all were wrapped in yellow sheets that resembled ponchos, an effort to keep them warm in Pittsburgh’s cold weather.