Naomi Rosenberg with one of the patients at a hospital Philadelphia.

“When things happen, you show up,” said Naomi Rosenberg in an article in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer. Following the Haiti earthquake, the second-year medical student at the University of Pennsylvania and former assistant to PIH co-founder Paul Farmer did far more than just show up—she put her education on hold to help save the lives of seven Haitians critically injured by the January 12 earthquake. All of the patients—three women and four children—needed medical treatment not available in their devastated country.

Naomi quickly found Philadelphia-area hospitals willing to treat the patients for free, helped to coordinate transportation, obtain the temporary immigration permission needed to medevac the patients from Port-au-Prince into the U.S., and helped to mobilize a community in Philadelphia to welcome the patients and support them while they recouperate. Naomi is currently still helping to guide the patients through their recovery and rehabilitation.

Read the inspiring story.