Supplying Critical Water for Haitian Hospital

Our infrastructure team of Jeff Musich, Hugh Tozer and Bob MacKinnon, are headed back down to Cap Haitien today, October 23rd, 2013, for a quick trip. As per usual, their agenda is quite full.

Our primary objective this trip is to work with our Haitien colleagues to make repairs to the operating room sterilizer. The installation of this machine and its associated water and power systems, was the primary focus of our work for the past two years. It is used for the sterilization of the instruments used in the surgeries for the hospital. Our goal is to not only repair the machine, but also to provide the training to the hospital staff to do the routine maintenance on this machine. If time allows, we will be doing a property survey and preliminary site assessment for a new medical clinic in a nearby rural village in Cap Haitien. Rounding out our projects is to plan the layout and installation of oxygen in the Pediatric Building at the Justinian Hospital in Cap Haitien.

We are also exploring a trip of engineers, biomedical technicians, and electricians for 2014. If you are interested in learning about volunteer opportunities, please contact us directly at volunteer@konbitsante.org/207 347 6733.

Although our volunteers offer technical expertise and assistance and are valued greatly, it is only in tandem with our Haitian staff and partners that the day to day work happens. This is what konbit sante means in Kreyol- working together for health.

Dear friends of Konbit Sante,

Next Friday, June 28th, we will be sending our 15th shipping container from Portland Maine to the Justinien University Hospital in Cap- Haitien, Haiti.   This container includes over $400,000 in medicines, a large amount of biomedical equipment, including an anesthesia machine, 5 infany incubators, EKG machines and cardiac and fetal monitors, and over 1100 birthing kits.

The container also includes a number of pieces of equipment that will be prepositioned for our volunteers and staff who will be working on water and sanitation improvements.  We have recently purchased 600 ft of wire, 16 grounding rods and a number of tools including an antique crescent wrench. 

US volunteers plan to travel to Cap Haitien sometime in October 2013.  They plan to install the electrical equipment to protect the electrical supply to the biomedical equipment being shipped.  They also plan to conduct a hospital wide survey of water access and plumbing on the entire hospital campus.  Lastly, they will provide needed maintenance and continued training for the three wells that were dug and the pumps attached to them, as well as the industrial hospital sterilizer that was installed this past winter that is being used on a daily basis. 

We thank you for your ongoing support.  We invite people to explore olunteering opportunities with us. Providing access to water at the Justinien Hospital is a long term partnership between Konbit Sante staff, our volunteers and local staff at the hospital and we all thank you for your support.

You can contact us with questions or concerns at info@konbitsante.org/207 347 6733