University of Michigan emergency medicine resident Sacha Montas arrived safely in the Dominican Republic, and his group is making its way to a camp to begin offering medical treatment to those injured in last week's devastating earthquake in Haiti.

Montas, who is a fourth-year resident, is traveling with a group of other clinicians from Cooper University Hospital in New Jersey, according to the university. Last week, he said he wasn't sure what to expect, but planned to be offering medical treatment for at least a few weeks.

Dr. Sacha Montas, a flight physician for Survival Flight, talks about plans to go to Haiti to bring relief aid. Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com

Montas grew up in New York, but has often traveled to Haiti because his parents and much of his family are from Haiti. He plans to send back updates about his experiences as often as he can, a U-M spokeswoman said.

In his first account posted today, he said the group was traveling.

"We are moving toward the border town and defacto 'refugee camp' in Jimani, Dominican Republic, today, January 19, 2010," he wrote in the post on U-M's Web site. "Much medical care is being provided there given word that there is medical treatment available. It is also a launching point for missions into Haiti and can provide security."

"From our contacts, there is a high need for surgeons, particularly orthopedics given the preponderance of limb injuries and need for amputations. There is also a need for means to sedate/anesthetize persons."

Tina Reed covers health and the environment for AnnArbor.com. You can reach her at tinareed@annarbor.com, call her at 734-623-2535 or find her on Twitter @TreedinAA.