Due to both a long-standing presence and geographic proximity, the University of Miami clinicians were some of the first responders in Haiti following the January 2010 earthquake. To support the immediate and varied needs of these responders, the Calder librarians created a website gathering both freely available and commercially licensed material most relevant to the first responders and donated two boxes of core medical textbooks. The Calder Library then received an Express Disaster Recovery Award from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM), Southeastern/Atlantic Regional Library, to bring laptops and other technical support to the University of Miami medical tent and the long-standing training of Haitian physicians and nurses. This award led to an invitation to join a University of Miami field visit to Haiti to observe firsthand the work there and implement a needs assessment of the University of Miami affiliates onsite as well as the Haitian medical students and nurses in training. This presentation will also discuss the Emergency Access Initiative and its first implementation in Haiti, in addition to the planning process, necessary troubleshooting, and the challenges of working in both a disaster setting and a developing country.
