About The Mission Trip
***CURRENT UPDATE*** There is no water, electricity, bathroom facilities, or access to any lodging or other purchases available on the island. You need to be self-sustaining on this trip without exception. You can expect daytime temperatures in the high 80s with 85% humidity and nighttime temperatures in the low 80s. IMR is arranging private transportation from Florida to Freeport, Bahamas for our volunteers. This is a very fluid situation and the type of transportation may change over time. There will be limited seats available for our volunteers on a first come/first served basis. Medical personnel will have priority.
*Volunteers are responsible for their own roundtrip airfare from their home to arrival airport. All participants are required to enter their flights in the IMR system so we can track your flights. IMR’s preferred travel agent, Worldwide Navigators, is available to help you with flight arrangements. Please contact them at travel@worldwidenavigators.com. You will need to arrive in FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida on Friday, September 13 and overnight at a hotel of your choice. We will provide the information to meet IMR’s private transportation when you are a confirmed team member (payment in full).
All licensed medical personnel are required to have complete documentation at the time of application so that your documents are ready to submit when you have committed to the relief effort. Please bring copies of all documentation with you and your current medical license.
OVERALL SITUATION: Hurricane Dorian, an extremely slow moving Category 5 hurricane, spent 36 hours over the Bahamas with winds up to 185 mph (295 kph) and torrential rains, swamping neighborhoods in muddy brown floodwaters and destroying or severely damaging thousands of homes.
Abaco and Grand Bahamas together have a population of approximately 70,000. It is believed that about 45% of the 13,000 homes on the islands have been destroyed or severely damaged. The death toll is expected to rise significantly over the next few days.
Situation as of 3 September, World Health Organization Abaco:
- Significant structural damage is expected in Abaco, not confirmed as yet
- 5 confirmed deaths and at least 450 confirmed displaced persons.
- MoH informed that a few critical patients have been transported to the Princess Margaret Hospital by the Royal Bahamas Defense Forces.
- The Marsh Harbor Hospital is operating and serving as shelter for over 450 persons and for the four physicians and nurses working there.
- There are no confirmed reports on the situation of the other health care facilities
Grand Bahama:
- Similar situation is expected as in Abaco Island. Still awaiting reports.
New Providence:
- Government and health facilities are closed. The Princes Margaret Hospital -PMH is operating only for emergency services
- Flash flooding were reported in some areas
- Linden Pindling airport in Nassau is operating normally
- Health personnel from New Providence and other unaffected Family Islands are on stand-by to be deployed to Abaco and Grand Bahamas to replace exhausted health care professionals. As a result, a number of health clinics in these other FI will remain closed.
THE RESPONSE: International Medical Relief has been called in to help survivors as medical demands continue to increase in an already-strained system. We will be responding to communities as requested by the World Health Organization and local government.
IMR will be aiding the local healthcare system as they recover. This is not a search and rescue effort. IMR Volunteers can expect to treat acute and chronic illness, provide wound care, replace reading glasses and chronic medications where possible, and fill in at hospitals as requested.
About Clinic
IMR will be aiding the local healthcare system as they recover. This is not a search and rescue effort. IMR Volunteers can expect to treat acute and chronic illness, provide wound care, replace reading glasses and chronic medications where possible, and fill in at hospitals as requested. We will also provide relief for immediate needs such as food and hygiene with education. Please be aware that our goal is to meet the needs of the people in the disaster within our capabilities - you may not be providing direct medical care. Clinics will be held outside under tarps or within structurally sound buildings as available.
Flexibility is a key component of success for this mission! Be prepared for a fluid situation that may require significant changes to the planned itinerary. It is our goal to provide aid in whatever manner is necessary to help the people and the medical community of the Bahamas
Transportation & Lodging
IMR will provide lodging based on the circumstances on the ground. This may include sleeping in a tent base camp set up by IMR with sanitation, water, and shelter. We are currently planning for a tent base camp. The situation on the ground is very fluid and IMR will respond with the best possible conditions for you. You need to be prepared to camp for the entire week, including your food, snacks, and camping equipment. Transportation will be arranged for the team as available. Expect to hike into communities carrying the required supplies for the medical team. Filtered water and will be available from IMR but you are required to have a filter bottle (consider one that covers viruses also), easy to pack snacks in sufficient quantity, and camping food sufficient for your time on the ground. We will be able to provide warm or hot water to cook your food in the bag
You will be sent a required equipment list after your application has been received. Please review the list of items you are REQUIRED to bring with you to the field (above and in itinerary section). There are no exceptions to any item on this list. They are for your personal use and are required for your safety.
Trip Highlights
Helping the people of the Bahamas to recover from this devastating tragedy is the highlight of this relief effort. You will provide necessary services during this trip, which may include providing needed help that is not medical . Thank you for your desire to serve the people of the Bahamas - without people like you, they really will have lost everything. We are honored to have you on the IMR team. 
