By Rachel Peine, Communications Specialist
North Operating Group

When Dennis Tuchalski isn’t working as a respiratory therapist at SSM St. Joseph Health Center, you’ll likely find him half way across the world.

But don’t expect to find him on vacation. His personal mission is to travel to third-world countries to provide much-needed medical care. It’s almost like a second career for him.

“You get to do things you aren’t used to doing, which is a great learning experience,” Dennis explains. “These trips have taught me to be versatile.”

He’s been to the poorest places, including Honduras, Haiti, and is soon traveling to Bulgaria. During his first trip to Haiti in 2003, he volunteered with a group of nurses, a biomed technician and a doctor, performing open heart surgeries on critical patients – the first ever performed in the country.

Naturally, after February’s earthquake hit, he wanted to return.

“I really enjoyed my first trip there and really liked the people, but there wasn’t an opportunity before for a respiratory therapist to go there,” he explains,” so I went to Honduras instead. When the earthquake hit in Haiti, I knew there would be an opportunity to go back.”

Several healthcare professionals from various St. Louis hospitals, including employees from SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center, traveled to Haiti to help CRUDEM (the Center for the Rural Development of Milot). CRUDEM is a multifaceted mission dedicated to helping impoverished people in and around the village of Milot in Haiti. In 1986, the organization constructed country’s first hospital --  Hôpital Sacré Coeur -- because of the acute need for healthcare.

Dennis received word from Dr. William Guyol, chair of CRUDEM’s medical committee and SSM St. Mary’s Health Center physician, that the organization needed a respiratory therapist. Dennis promptly left for Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, on Feb. 16, to connect with a commuter flight bound for Haiti’s capital, and traveled alone, paying his own way.

When he first arrived in Haiti, Dennis surveyed two resident hospital facilities on the hospital grounds. Many earthquake victims arrived with just a suitcase and traveled many miles just to find medical care.

“My first impression was, ‘wow,’” he says. “The place had grown dramatically since I last visited. The hospitals were very crowded with people sleeping on the ground with mosquito tents surrounding them.”

The overwhelming scene didn’t deter Dennis from making the best of the situation. Many supplies were limited, but “we just made it work.”  “I even took a soda bottle and made it into an asthma spacer,” he says. “Many people with asthma weren’t taught how to properly use an inhaler.”

Dennis quickly was thrown in the midst of cases beyond intubation or other respiratory therapy needs. One of the most rewarding experiences, he says, was connecting with an 18-year-old student who was a sole survivor from a Port au Prince nursing school. The student lost her left arm and left leg due to gangrene and traveled for one month just to get to the resident hospital. Dennis and other volunteers helped care for her, dispensing daily medication, changing her dressings and helping her get into rehabilitation care.

“We talked a lot. At first, she was very depressed and felt like she didn’t have anything to live for,” he says.“It helped knowing that people cared for her and we were there to help her. Now she’s moving into a tent city and is feeling better about herself.”

The hospital facility has since expanded into a tent city, offering a place for patients to stay with family, as a temporary solution until they find a more permanent place to live.

“Many of them have no home, no belongings and no family to support them,” Dennis says. “They are ready to leave, but have no where to go. There were nuns gathering clothing and other supplies to give them, but it’s going to be an ongoing process.”

As he departed, Dennis says several physical therapists were arriving when he left to help victims recover from their injuries.

“The Haitians are extremely proud people, and they truly appreciate the care you are giving them,” he says. “One of the people came up to me as I was leaving, and handed me a handmade flute. We made friends with people we were taking care of and connected with them.”

What’s next for Dennis? With barely any time off from his two-week trip to Haiti, he has already left to volunteer this month on a mission trip with his church group in Bulgaria. He also plans to return to Haiti in the fall.