On Sunday, January 17th a Red Cross field hospital was set up at Hopital Universitaire d’Haiti in downtown Port-au-Prince; the first surgeries began on January 18. Three Red Cross Basic Healthcare Emergency Response Units (ERU) are on the ground to provide care and triage in Port-au-Prince and potentially Jacmel.  The Dominican Red Cross and the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo have set up a field hospital along the border in Jimani, Dominican Republic.  An additional Red Cross Referral Hospital ERU is preparing for deployment.  Combined, the field hospitals and Basic Healthcare ERUs can meet the needs of more than half a million people.

With the arrival of additional staff on January 17, three Water and Sanitation ERUs are now on the ground setting up equipment and initial water distributions have begun.  Once at full capacity, these ERUs will provide clean water for up to 50,000 people each day.

The American Red Cross Relief ERU in Port-au-Prince has now received and is distributing incoming relief supplies, in coordination with the Haitian National Red Cross Society (HNRCS), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other Red Cross partners.  Relief distributions are being planned for at least 150,000 people.

On January 19, American Red Cross President and CEO Gail McGovern is scheduled to travel to Port-au-Prince with the President and Secretary-General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (International Federation).