Back to School for Kids in Haiti

As we leave the summer behind, students and teachers will be starting the 2011-2012 school year. In a third world country like Haiti, children face many preventable health risks. We need your help to diminish these risks and you can do so by sponsoring a school child for the year in Haiti. For a mere $10, you can help save a young life by clicking here.

Project Medishare for Haiti developed a School Based Health Program to give every child attending primary schools in the Medishare catchment area in the Central Plateau a physical exam and healthcare during the school year, including vaccinations, an assessment for anemia/malnutrition, a vision and hearing screening, a dental check, de-worming and referral to clinics for follow-up. Your generous donation can help guarantee the continuation of this important program for children of the Central Plateau. Project Medishare sees approximately 12,000 children per year in this program alone.

Project Medishare responded quickly to the Cholera outbreak last year using different prevention methods. This was possible because of Medishare’s long history of community support and education. Meetings were held at the schools to train staff and students on the signs and symptoms of Cholera. Liquid bleach, water treatment tablets, disinfectant and oral rehydration salts were distributed to all of the schools during the first quarter of the school year. Many of the school children participated in Cholera awareness campaigns at their local churches on Sundays. We are doubling our efforts to identify funding in order to provide access to clean water to our populations, most specifically to the school children.

As you prepare your own family and friends for the start of a productive school year, please consider a donation to support this program to keep Haitian students safe and healthy. Just $10 sponsors one child, and with a $100 donation, you can sponsor 10 kids to receive healthcare this year. We appreciate your generosity to ensure that children in Haiti have access to the healthcare they so desperately need.

Thank you for your contribution.

Sincerely,

Dr. Barth A. Green

School Children in Haiti's Central Plateau at a Project Medishare assembly

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Lives Saved with Cholera Outreach

Darline is a 14-year-old Haitian girl who attends Eben Ezer School in Pareidon, Lahoye. She participated in cholera outreach that was held at her school through Project Medishare and later at her church.

In March of 2011 her neighbor became ill and was vomiting. The neighbors’ family assumed this was just indigestion. Because of the recent training she had received, Darline suspected that her neighbor had cholera. She ran to the Project Medishare Lahoye clinic to notify the nurse in charge. By the end of the day, when the nurse visited the neighbor’s house, two more members of the family were down with the same symptoms and were immediately transported to the clinic. Within weeks, a major epidemic developed in the area and Project Medishare opened a Cholera Treatment Unit in order to respond to the emergency. This was accomplished thanks to a grant from the United Way of Miami-Dade.

Today, Darline is very involved in outreach at her church and now assists at a fixed cholera supply distribution point that has been set up at her house. She hopes to pursue her studies and aspires to become a nurse to be able to take care of her community.

Project Medishare clinic in Lahoye, Haiti

If you would like to help us in purchasing lifesaving supplies that will help treat as well as prevent the spread of this outbreak, please click here to make an online donation today.

Thank you once again for all you do to help us continue provide healthcare in Haiti!

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Rotary International District 6990 Awards $70,000 Grant to Project Medishare

On Monday, June 27^th 2011, senior leaders of Rotary International’s District 6990, which comprises southeast Florida and Grand Bahama Island, presented a $70,000 grant commitment to Drs. Barth Green and Arthur Fournier of Project Medishare for Haiti, Inc. Drs. Green and Fournier will use the funds to provide training and equipment in the areas of radiology, ophthalmology, and laboratory work essential to providing urgent care to critically injured and ill patients at the Hospital Bernard Mevs Project Medishare in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

This is the second time Rotary International’s District 6990 has partnered with Project Medishare to fund work in Haiti. In 2007, the Zone 34 Rotary District gave Project Medishare $107,733 towards their nutrition program in the Central Plateau of Haiti, the poorest area of the country. “We are proud to be partnering with Project Medishare once again in their efforts towards the sustainable redevelopment of Haiti,” said Noelle A. Galperin, Rotary District 6990 Haiti Initiative Task Force Chair. “After visiting Hospital Bernard Mevs Project Medishare, it quickly became apparent that this is an organization that is achieving ambitious goals in Haiti – training and employing Haitian doctors, nurses and health care administrators to be the future health care leaders in their country.”

Thank you Rotary International District 6990 for your continued support of Project Medishare for Haiti, Inc.  

Rotary International’s District 6990 check presentation to Project Medishare

Rotary International’s District 6990 second check presentation to Project Medishare

Rotary International is a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders that provides humanitarian service and help to build goodwill and peace in the world. Rotary’s global membership is approximately 1.2 million men and women who belong to more than 32,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas. Rotary clubs have been serving communities worldwide for more than a century. www.rotary.org

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Together, Another Life is Saved

Project Medishare for Haiti has a very strong presence in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince at the countries only critical care and trauma facility, Hospital Bernard Mevs. However, this is not the only place where life saving work is completed. We have teams in the Central Plateau and in Miami that collaborate with doctors, nurses, staff, etc. on a daily basis. These relationships are so important as they are the ones that together, ultimately save lives in Haiti. One Saturday, earlier this month was a great example of the incredible team work that goes on to help Haiti.

Project Medishare often sets up mobile clinics in order to provide health care to those that otherwise would not receive it. One Saturday in early June was no different. A mobile clinic was in place in the Central Plateau. One of the patients seen was an infant with a cleft lip. The baby and her mother are from a small community near the remote village of Marmont. The doctors described the baby’s condition as being “on deaths door step”. She is a four month old that weighed only four pounds. She was not feeding as she could not form a field on her mother’s breast because the cleft was so severe. Initially, the doctors at the mobile clinic sent her to the regional hospital in Hinche with one of the Medishare drivers and nurse practitioners. The regional hospital did not have any pediatric tubes there so the staff called the hospital in Cange only to find that they did not have a pediatric tube either.

The Project Medishare staff in the Central Plateau, Port-au-Prince and Miami all put their minds together to find a solution. In Miami, staff worked to find a breast pump as “formula was not an option without refrigeration.” By Wednesday a breast pump was in the hands of the baby’s mother and the Medishare nursing team taught her how to use it properly.

The baby was successfully released on Friday only six days after first being seen at a Project Medishare mobile clinic. The baby is scheduled to return for the next cleft surgery week. As Project Medishare co-founder Dr. Arthur Fournier said, “The work involved in saving this child’s life illustrates the need for balance for our work involved in primary care, hospital and community care programs in Haiti.” Together, another life is saved.

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Because of You

We would like to take the opportunity to simply say “Thank You”. Thank you to all of our volunteers, staff, donors and supporters. It is because of you that we have been able to continue to save lives and improve lives in Haiti. It is because of you that we are able to train Haitian physicians, nurses and allied health professionals. It is because of you that we are able to continue our quest to achieve quality healthcare and development services for all in Haiti. It is because of you that children in Haiti, like the ones pictured below, have the opportunity to smile. Thank you for supporting and continuing to support Project Medishare for Haiti.

Children at a Project Medishare clinic in the Central Plateau. Photo by Omar Vega

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Mother’s Day 2011

Mother’s Day 2011 is almost here! This is a very special Mother’s Day for us at Project Medishare as we open our first maternal health center in Marmont in the Central Plateau of Haiti. With your help, this year we would like to pay tribute to the expectant mothers that we are going to serve in the Central Plateau. Mother’s Day is a great occasion for you to honor and thank the woman who gave you life, continues to give you love and looks after you in any way that she can. You can do your part to help expectant mothers in the Central Plateau by sponsoring one woman for just $25 dollars. This small donation will go a long way by providing pre-natal and post-natal care for the mother and infant.

Expectant mothers in Haiti's Central Plateau. Photo by Jennifer Browning.

In Haiti, and particularly in the Central Plateau, the high rate of maternal mortality remains a challenge. Haiti has the top maternal mortality rate in the Western hemisphere and 80% of women in Haiti deliver their newborns at home without any skilled caregivers. One out of every 37 female deaths in Haiti is linked to high-risk pregnancy. Project Medishare has been working tirelessly toward decreasing these statistics.

Construction of our new maternal health center in Marmont is complete and the staff has been hired. Thanks to the Greig Family, who generously financed the construction, expectant Mothers in the Central Plateau will now have access to lifesaving health services. The center will offer access to quality child delivery services free of charge including comprehensive pre-natal and post-natal care. We expect that the center will deliver between 900-1,200 babies per year and care for thousands more.

Project Medishare internist, Dr. Gerarde Mondesir said, “It is essential for women in Marmont to have a center in their community where they can go to give birth.” She hopes that by having a maternal health center nearby, fewer women give birth at home, thereby decreasing the maternal mortality rate in the community. The new maternal health center is equipped with a full laboratory, incubators, and examination and observation rooms thanks to a generous equipment donation provided by our partner organization, MedShare. With your donation, we will be able to continue to treat thousands of women, maintain the maternal health center and decrease preventable deaths of mothers during childbirth.

What better way to honor a special mother in your life than by donating towards the improved health of a future mother in Haiti? This Mother’s Day we ask that you help us honor the women we serve in the Central Plateau by making a donation of $25. For each gift of $25, we will be able to serve one more mother with pre and post-natal education and care this year.  Please help us reach our goal of 1,200 gifts to ensure that we are able to care for each and every one of the mothers who so desperately need it. You can donate directly by clicking here!

The maternal health center is scheduled to open the first week of May, just in time for many Haitian mothers’ first Mother’s Day. Thank you for helping make this Mother’s Day special for expectant mothers in the Central Plateau of Haiti!

A healthy newborn baby at a Project Medishare facility. Photo by Jennifer Browning.

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NFL Star Visits Haiti with Project Medishare

This past weekend a group of Haitian Americans visited Haiti with Project Medishare. The group consisted of wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts, Pierre Garçon, recording artist Phyllisia Ross & DJ Griot. During their stay, the group toured Project Medishare’s facilities in the Central Plateau as well as the Hospital Bernard Mevs Project Medishare in Port–au-Prince.

The group was able to see the Cholera Treatment Center (CTC) in Mirebalias, the Akamil Production Facility and the Community Health Program in Thomonde as well as the Community Health Program, Maternal Health Center and staff residence in Marmont.

This was only Garçon’s second time returning to Haiti since the earthquake. After the trip, Garçon said that “the work that Project Medishare is doing in Haiti is inspiring. Witnessing it firsthand just proves how critical it is that they are able to continue performing their lifesaving work.”

The group was also able to spend a day at Hospital Bernard Mevs Project Medishare in Port-au-Prince. “I was very impressed and touched by the care the babies in the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit were receiving. We were able to see premature twins arrive in the NICU just as we were walking in,” Ross said. “Haiti is a beautiful country filled with the most resilient people. It is truly heartwarming to know that the most deserving people are able to receive advanced health care because of the Project Medishare staff and volunteers.” Hospital Bernard Mevs houses the only Pediatric neo-natal ICU in Haiti.

Below are a couple of pictures that were taken during their trip.

DJ Griot, Marie, NFL Star Pierre Garçon, Medishare's Wilfrid Macena & Singer Phyllisia Ross

Singer Phyllisia Ross with a baby from the NICU at Hospital Bernard Mevs Project Medishare

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Cholera outbreak reminds the importance of community health program

Project Medishare medical and office staff go out into the community to get the message out about cholera. Without community health programs like this one, it would be almost impossible to spread the word about prevention to keep people safe. Photo by Jennifer Browning.

By Jennifer Browning

In NPR’s Health Experts Keep Close Eye on Cholera in Haiti, Christopher Joyce discusses Haiti’s health worker’s focus on prevention and education and how it is vital to keep cholera at bay. Epidemiologists working with the International Organization for Migration have begun to do this by tracking those from the Artibonite region where the outbreak started. Officials are using cell phone records to track people who are leaving the area for fear that these people may possibly be infected. Epidemiologists are sending these people text messages providing a free number to call. Those who do call learn not only how to avoid spreading the disease, but also what to do if they get infected.
Project Medishare has joined forces with the Haitian Ministry of Health as well as other partnering organizations such as Partners in Health’s Zanmi Lasante, American Red Cross, and other NGOs to get the message out about cholera, including how to prevent it and how it is treated.

In Joyce’s article, Sabrina Pourmand-Nolan, local director for World Vision, advocates that in order for Haiti to prevent cholera from becoming a permanent plague, it will take more than proper sewage to keep the Caribbean country out of the woods.

Project Medishare community health nurse Wiseline Celestine uses a megaphone to make people aware about cholera and the ways to prevent contracting the disease. Photo by Jennifer Browning.

“It’s not just about getting proper sewage,” Pourmand-Nolan told NPR, “it’s about getting proper educational facilities, proper health facilities. That’s how we are going to protect the people over the long term.”

Project Medishare began working in rural Haiti in 1994 with a focus on empowering the people to support a community health program. Today, based in Thomonde, in Haiti’s Central Plateau, the organization continues its mission to improve access to healthcare in Haiti.

When the word got out that cholera was raging across the nearby Artibonite area, Project Medishare mobilized 82 community health agents who immediately began getting the message out to their communities. They were joined by 20 other community health doctors and nurses and office staff.

And while, the organization’s doctors, nurses, pharmacists and health agents are out in the community each day, it is times like these that provide a reminder regarding the importance of this community health program in Haiti’s Central Plateau.  Without programs like this one, it would be almost impossible to spread the word about prevention to keep people safe.

Project Medishare’s community health and development program exists on private donations. If you would like to make a donation to keep these programs in action click here to make a secure online donation today.

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Emory surgical team saves a hand, saves a life

By Jennifer Browning

At 13, Amos spends his summer vacation working to help support his family. At sunrise, he goes down to the river, collects the sand on the bottom, places it in large buckets and then carries it to a central location.

Amos and his mother Ann. Amos is recovering well from his first surgery. Today, surgeons will perform a skin graft. Photo by Jennifer Browning.

Over a week ago, Amos fell and punctured his hand while at work. Not wanting to worry his family, he told no one about his injury. Within a week, Ann, his mother, began to notice Amos wasn’t sleeping.

That’s when Amos showed her his hand, which was swollen and showed signs of infection. Ann brought her son to the government hospital in Hinche last week where doctors prescribed antibiotics and tried to clean the wound. They recommended that Amos return to see the doctors arriving from Emory.

When the doctors from Emory met Amos, his hand was enormously swollen and he was complaining not only of pain in his right hand, but all the way up to his shoulder. His forearm was already showing signs of swelling. The surgeons determined that Amos was suffering from necrotizing fasciitis.

“He is the bread winner in his family, he fell and probably had wood penetrate the wound, those are dirty wounds in general, and they are set up for rapid bacterial overgrowth,” Dr. Jahnavi Srinivasan, a visiting surgeon from Emory said. “So when he got here he was actually septic, he had a very high fever, he couldn’t move his fingers at all. If this had gone on too long there wouldn’t have been a chance of his hand coming back.”

The infection was so bad that there was a possibility Amos could lose his hand or had the infection worsened, his life.

The surgical team comprised of Dr. Srinivasan and Dr. Viraj Master decided to perform surgery to relieve pressure from the wound.

“He had global body wide infection and non-use of his hand,” Dr. Master said.

Ann said she is thankful for what the doctors could do here.

“The Lord has given me grace to help my son. I prayed for something to come, and the Lord sent me these doctors to help my son,” she said. “I am very happy. After thanking God, I thank the doctors for coming here. The doctors are very nice and professional.”

Three days after the surgery, the surgical team says that Amos’s wound is overall healing well, but there are still concerns for the young boy.

“The concern is that it is going to form a bunch of scar tissue, and as the scar tissue forms, the skin is not going to be as elastic as regular skin,” Ira Leeds, a third-year Emory medical student said.

Leeds explained that this elasticity problem would prevent Amos from being able to open and close his hand properly. In order for him to regain full use of the hand, he will require a skin graft and long-term physical therapy.

Dr. Srinivasan and Dr. Master plan to do a skin graft on his hand today, because they are not sure when he will have the opportunity to see a plastic surgeon. And if the wound care isn’t done properly, the hand could become infected again.

“He would have died if we hadn’t debrided this and if it gets infected again he could die,” Dr. Srinivasan said. “Normally when you have a wound like this you wait seven to 10 days just to make sure the superficial bacterial counts from the fresh tissue has gone down because it gives you a better chance of the skin graft taking and healing.”

The surgeons are hoping the skin graft will take. Project Medishare’s nurse liaison, Maguy Rochelin, is staying in touch with the patient so if Amos needs another skin graft she can possibly schedule Amos to see the next plastic surgery team arriving to work at Bernard Mevs/Project Medishare hospital in Port-au-Prince.

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Emory surgical team operates in Hinche this week

By Jennifer Browning

While some will be basking in the sun by their barbecue grills or lining up their fireworks on Sunday for Fourth of July celebrations, Emory Medishare, in partnership with Project Medishare will be arriving in Hinche, Haiti in the Central Plateau to begin a week of surgeries. Above is a sideshow, produced by Emory University and narrated by Dr. Viraj Master regarding the realities in operating in rural Haiti.

This will be the third year Emory will be working out of the government hospital. Check back to the Project Medishare Blog for updates regarding their specialty surgical trip.

Click here to read posts from previous Emory surgical trips in Hinche.

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