I think I know that article that you're talking about. I probably have it saved somewhere but can't find it on my computer right now. You did remind me of a different article, from a doc responding to Katrina. He was part of a Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) for FEMA. Actually, isn't Jeff_M organized under FEMA, too?

Anyway, this article isn't a list of gear, but it does give some idea of what to expect mentally, if Haiti is your friend's first deployment to a disaster situation on this scale. For what it's worth--

A Doctor's Message from Katrina's Front Lines