Expand Physical Therapy Services in Haiti

Thank you for your support of the Haitian Physical Therapy Society (SHP) through Health Volunteers Overseas. The year ended on a positive, productive note, with trainings conducted on project management, a multidisciplinary conference held on rehabilitation, meetings held with hospitals to acquaint them with physical therapy and provide them with referral information, as well as meetings with communities to build awareness of the profession and the benefits of accessing services.

With support from donors like you through HVO, SHP has had many accomplishments in the last year, including the establishment of physical therapy services at a hospital in Haiti’s capital area. Working to expand the availability of care and advocate for the profession of physical therapy, SHP met with the board of the local hospital on several occasions, presenting information on the value of PT services. This information led the hospital board to set-up a physical therapy department. Members of the SHP worked with the hospital to set up the physical therapy room and recommend equipment and supplies for purchase. They worked with medical staff to familiarize them with which patients to refer for physical therapy, and then the SHP worked with the hospital to interview and hire a physical therapist. In November, the hospital began providing physical therapy services and, in the initial months, they received 31 patients.

With this promising start, SHP is hopeful that other hospitals will begin setting up physical therapy departments, and they have already met with most of the hospitals and clinics in the capital that have rehabilitation care. They are collaborating with these institutions to develop a manual that provides information on available services, contact information, etc. In the year ahead, they will begin targeting institutes in the northern and southern parts of the country.

Thank you for your support of the Haitian Physical Therapy Society through HVO; it is making great strides in developing the profession in Haiti and in building awareness of the need for physical therapy services.