Oregon Public Broadcasting

Relief teams hope to leave the Northwest Wednesday for Haiti where they’ll help tend to thousands of destitute earthquake victims. April Baer reports.

Trauma nurse Anne Blaufus got the call Tuesday - she’s needed in Haiti for four or five weeks.

She says colleagues at Providence Portland Medical Center have already picked up all her shifts.

She’s a volunteer for the aid agency Medical Teams International. Blaufus last visited Haiti after Hurricane Jeanne, and found the infrastructure close to non-existant – from local hospitals to fresh water access. If anything, she expects  a worse situation this time.

Anne Blaufus  “Like everybody else last night, I turned on CNN to see what I can find. In the past we’ve had partners meet us there. That is not going to be the case this time. So I think we’ll just have to make our way.”

She’ll be teamed up with a Vancouver, Washington couple who lived in Haiti for several years.

Portland-based Mercy Corps is also trying to get a team of two to three people into the country.

Spokeswoman Caitlin Carlson says a lot depends on the availability of viable airports.