Renton nurse volunteering in Haiti dies of heart attack
March 5, 2010 · Updated 10:38 AM
An emergency-room nurse from Renton suffered a fatal heart attack Monday while caring for the victims of Haiti's devastating earthquake on Jan. 12.
Matthew Bouthillier, 36, was volunteering in Haiti with the Portland-based Medical Teams International. He had arrived in Haiti on Feb. 20.
“We are shocked and saddened beyond words at this enormous loss,” said Bas Vanderzalm, president of Medical Teams International, who recently returned from Haiti, in a press release. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Matt’s wife, Melissa, and his family, as well as our team in Haiti.”
Bouthillier served as an emergency-room nurse at Swedish Medical Center in Issaquah.
Vanderzalm meet with Bouthillier's family on Tuesday.
Bouthillier had been treating earthquake survivors on a Medical Teams International mission in Haiti. He was pronounced dead from cardiac arrest at the University of Miami field hospital in Port-au-Prince, according to the agency.
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