When the earth shook, and the world watched in horror as Haiti’s capital was brought to its knees by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake in 2010, one nurse found her calling in the midst of catastrophe. Stephanie Bates, then a Peace Corps volunteer, saw firsthand the ravages the quake wrought on the people of Haiti, and particularly on the children whose plight would go on to shape her career and her focus, as reported by UC News.
In the Dominican Republic, Bates was initially tasked with providing health education to local communities, a mission that was interrupted by the seismic disaster that struck the island of Hispaniola. The carnage led to over 300,000 deaths and devastated the lives of millions. Bates, now an assistant professor at UC College of Nursing, recalls the chaos, "It was unprecedented devastation. What happened was the earthquake just crushed all of their communications towers, airports, you name it," she told UC News. In that moment, Bates' mission became one of urgent humanitarian aid, transporting the injured to safety, and administering lifesaving first aid in an environment where safety itself had become a luxury.
This experience, as crushing and transformative as the tectonic upheaval itself, propelled Bates towards an unwavering commitment to healthcare. Her primary focus became the long-term impacts of stress on children, with an understanding that the traumas of such events echo far beyond the immediacy of their occurrence.
Bates' work reflects a dedication to not just treating, but understanding the deeper influences of stress and trauma on children's developing bodies and minds. "They had to take injured Haitians to an area where it was safe. It’s kind of the first principle of first aid, make sure your environment is safe, and then you can attend to those injured," according to UC News, Bates explained regarding the triage decisions made in the wake of the disaster. Her perspective, colored by those difficult days, drives her research and teachings today.
