Haiti: Reduce Cholera and diarrhea in children

Medical Teams International plans to send 41 medical teams to Haiti from July 2011 through June 2012 to support our work with Haiti Advantage, the Beraca Hospital, the Canaan Clinic and the work of our partner, Haiti Foundation of Hope.

Haiti Advantage Program

Effective July 2010, Medical Teams International has taken responsibility for oversight and funding of the Haiti Advantage program. Since 2001, Haiti Advantage has been providing assistance to persons with disabling conditions in Haiti. In August 2009, our Prosthetics/Orthotics facility was chosen as one of the premiere clinics in the country. For more information, please see our Haiti Advantage page.

Centre Medical Beraca & La Coma Medical Outpost

The projects at Centre Medical Beraca, is a 78-bed "full service" hospital with very basic Maternity, Pediatric, Surgery, Internal Medicine, and Infectious Disease focus.  It is located in La Puente, allowing it to serve some of the most marginalized 450,000 people in Haiti. The hospital was founded in 1944 by Missionary Nurse Caroline Bradshaw and has survived through natural disasters, political upheavals and financial hardships, a testament to the dedication, hard work and ingenuity of its staff.

The La Coma Medical Outpost is a clinic that is two hours away by motor vehicle from the hospital. Few from this remote region can access the hospital. This unit provides basic primary care, an HIV and AIDS program, growth charting and emergency supplemental nutrition for severly malnourished children. The hospital and clinic’s mission is to serve the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the communities.

Medical Teams International is supporting the hospital by:

• Providing 12 medical teams that support specialty training needs and primary care efforts at both the hospital and the remote medical outpost at La Coma.
• Continuing to support the hospital’s Cholera Treatment Center.
• Employing the services of a full time OB/GYN to support maternal health needs in the area.
• Filling critical life-saving gaps in patient care and pharmacy.
• Aiding the hospital with infrastructural improvements necessary to improve patient care, expand services and break down barriers to accessing medical services.

Medical Teams International will also provide financial support to our partner Haiti Foundation of Hope. With that funding, the organization will:

• Manage a community health program that will impact the lives of 3,000 people in northern Haiti.
• Improve access to and utilization of maternal health services for pregnant women and mothers.
• Improve the nutritional status of children less than five years of age.

Canaan Medical Clinic

The Internally Displaced Peoples’ Camp (IDP) of Canaan is an IDP camp about an hour north of the capital, Port-au-Prince, where approximately 90,000 people have resettled after the 2011 earthquake. The clinic is managed by Medical Teams International Haitian staff nurses and is offered supplimental support by visiting US-based volunteer physicians and nurses. The nurses provide consultations, exams, medications and health training to the population living in Canaan on a daily basis. We support the Canaan IDP Community by:

• Staffing and managing daily primary care medical clinics that care for over 18,000 residents of the Canaan IDP camp annually.
• Building the clinic structure that serves as a primary care clinic, community center and church.
• Providing referrals and arranging transfers of those in need of acute care.
• Providing pharmaceutical services at the camp.
• Sending 12 primary care and specialty service volunteer teams from the US annually.

Our Plans for Continued Aid

Medical Teams International continues to provide hospital care with surgical capacity, establish support to local health centers and operate mobile medical units to aid in the transition from relief to rehabilitation. Through its new local office in Port-au-Prince, Medical Teams International is working to meet immediate to medium-term orthopedic and medical care needs and help re-establish a functioning health care system.

Links:

• Medical Teams International in Haiti
• Haiti Advantage Program