By By KEVIN SCOTT CUTLER
Lifestyles & Features Editor
For 21 years, Joyce Baker’s second home has been what is now Beaufort County Medical Center.
She’s the nurse manager for women’s services, working in labor and delivery and helping to care for the newborns of the area.
But this week, the Chocowinity native will step far outside her comfort zone when she embarks on a medical mission trip to the earthquake-shattered Haiti.
“As I watched the story unfold on TV, I prayed about it,” Baker said during an interview Saturday afternoon. “I asked God for a way I could help.”
That prayer was soon answered.
Through her contacts with Gateway Free Will Baptist Church in Virginia Beach, Va., Baker departs Beaufort County on Monday to join another volunteer, John Bottoms of Virginia Beach, for the trip to Haiti.
The pair will fly out of Norfolk, Va., to Florida, where they expect to board a medical mission plane to head overseas Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday morning. Baker said she will probably be gone at least a week.
“The church had already sent seven people to Haiti on a mission trip, and they landed one hour before the earthquake struck,” Baker said. “They are all safe, but they put on their Web site that they need help and they need supplies.”
Baker e-mailed the church with an offer to go, and less than three hours later she was accepted and began laying the groundwork for the trip.
“I don’t think God could have opened a door any more than that,” she said.
According to Pam Shadle, spokeswoman for Beaufort County Medical Center, Baker took the initiative to volunteer her services.
“She’s going personally. It’s a personal decision,” Shadle said. “Certainly, as her co-worker I’m really proud and amazed that she’s wanting to do this.”
Not only is Baker offering her expertise, she’s also gathering much-needed supplies to take with her. A collection box has been placed in the lobby of the medical center today for donations.
And while many of the items can be supplied by local businesses and individuals, Baker said she hopes area doctors will step up to the plate. Among the items being collected are antibiotics, pain medication, bandages and dressings, irrigation supplies and materials to put casts on broken bones.
Monetary donations are also being gratefully accepted.
“I can guarantee that the money will be spent for supplies that are needed for this mission,” Baker said. “And we’ll be buying food in Florida to take to the earthquake victims.”
Baker is preparing herself to face a devastated country when she lands at the airport in Port-au-Prince.
“I’m expecting to find a lot of tired workers that need rest and relief,” she said. “And there will be a lot of people with broken bones and other injuries, and people with broken hearts because they’ve lost everything.”
Baker shared the story of a mother who brought her 3-year-old to the mission compound for treatment. A large laceration across the child’s abdomen partially exposed the stomach, and there was only enough material to suture the wound halfway. That is proof of the desperate need for more medical supplies, she said.
Baker’s staff is supportive of her decision to make the trip to Haiti.
“We are proud to have Joyce as a part of the team here at Beaufort County Medical Center’s Women’s Services Unit,” said Jamie Burbage, a staff registered nurse. “Her compassion for others in their time of need is just a testament of what kind of person she is. She is a true asset.”
Baker insists she isn’t afraid to make the journey, despite reports of looting and violence in the area.
“I have no fear because I feel like God is leading me to go,” she said. “God will protect me in Haiti just as he’ll protect me in Beaufort County.”
As of Saturday afternoon, Baker had informed her three sons of her plans but she was waiting until that night to break the news to her mother.
Her sister, Margaret Wainwright, hopes local churches will put Baker on their prayer lists.
“I just ask for all of Beaufort County and the surrounding areas to pray for her safety,” Wainwright said. “I ask that God will take care of her. She’s my only sister.”