NEEDHAM, Mass. -- Health care professionals in the Boston area are lining up to help with the relief efforts in Haiti, including a local nurse with a special connection to the island.

Tamara Dupoux, who works at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Needham, has an 8-year-old son attending school on the island. Dupoux’s son, Brian, survived the earthquake without injury, and now she’s hoping to reconnect with her child while she volunteers providing medical aid to victims of the disaster.

“I just got the call this morning, so I’m trying to get my stuff,” said Dupoux, packing a travel bag in her home. “I’ve been putting my name everywhere. Anybody who will take me to Haiti to help the Haitian people,” she said.

Dupoux, who is herself Haitian, said her son was at home in Port-au-Prince when the earthquake leveled the city.

“Oh my god, I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat,” she said. “I was devastated until I heard from him.”

Dupoux is among the first 25 medical professional being dispatched to the island by the group Partners in Health. Almost all of the workers are fluent in Creole and will perform or assist in surgeries.

“The injuries were mostly orthopedic injuries, complicated fractures,” said Ophelia Dahl, a spokeswoman for the group. “That and trauma, so we were able to say that what we need is surgeons that specialize in that, but also to have supplies and hardware that could help to deal with that kind of thing.”

The group will also send engineers, water and other medical supplies to the country. Members of the group are set to fly out of Hanscom Air Force Base on Monday morning.

Dupoux said she realizes how lucky her son was to have escaped unharmed, and she’s hoping to give back to the country by helping as many of the earthquake victims as she can.

“I’m going to give (my son) a hug,” said Dupoux. “Tell him how much I love him and kiss him. Can’t wait.”