Reaching More Patients, Bringing More Healing
Bonjour, Bonsoir!
Good morning, Good evening!
Once again, it’s Max here with another update from Haiti. This time we are going to focus on the medical clinics!
Mwen vraiment kontan avec resulta nous jwenn nan clinic pour mwa Septembre nan. Nous we tout moun ki vin prends swen et nous fe li avec bon rapidite et efficacite!
I am very happy with the outcome of the September clinics. The doctors were able to care for everybody who came with speed and efficiency.
The clinics, to me, are some of the most essential projects that we work on because the people in these remote areas have no other option. For the majority of the people attending the clinics, we are their primary care giver!
I work with the medical team to expand the work that Haiti H2O has been doing for the last 20 years! (round of applause, please)
I am a big advocate for advancement and improvement: One of my main focus points as an addition to this amazing team is to make sure that things flow better among all facets of our organization, especially the clinics.
Dr Alisma, a physician from Les Cayes, was recently added to the team. With the addition of another doctor, the team was able to serve more people in need. In June we provided care to around 380 people. For the month of September we had a goal of reaching 400 people, and thanks be to God, we were able to surpass that amount—we helped a total of 453 people.
A lot of the patients we treat have “typical” needs—Dr. Sony, who leads our clinics, shared that many people who came this month were struggling with high blood pressure, diabetes, and scabies. Others were treated for asthma and urinary tract infections. In Plain Matin especially, a lot of children were seen for stomach problems and bronchitis.
You can hear Dr. Alisma’s thoughts on the September clinics in the video below:
As Dr. Alisma recommended, one of our next steps is to train local representatives that can help with follow up care and monitoring symptoms like blood pressure between clinics. We are also initiating an education program specifically for our patients. This is part of a long-term plan, and we are figuring out the most effective way to share this information!
During the most recent clinic, we had a few cases such as open cuts and gnarly wounds with some decomposition. But every now and then we find special cases as seen in the video below:
The child in the video is suffering from macrocephaly, an abnormally large head. She was seen at the clinic by Dr. Alisma. The mother didn’t come seeking a diagnosis—she already knew what was wrong. She came hoping there might be something, anything, the clinic could do to help. Doctors have told her that her daughter needs to travel to Port-au-Prince for tests and scans, but the family cannot afford the cost.
With additional funding for follow-up care, we could help patients like this receive the treatment they desperately need.
As I said before, I am a big advocate for advancement and improvement!
We are aiming to care for more and more people. My personal goal is to treat at least 2000 patients each year, which breaks down to a minimum of 500 patients each quarter.
We are also working alongside the leaders in the communities to address some logistics like how the clinic information is shared with the patients in the communities. I look to further strengthen the team as needed so that we can respond to the growing demand as we work to reach our future goals.
We do need your help so we can continue to provide the necessary medications to give patients the care they need.
As the price of medicine rises in the U.S, Haiti follows suit, since most of the medication is imported from the U.S. This makes the cost of each clinic even higher, and this is where I am asking you to help! My call to action for each of you is to consider giving a little extra support to help us keep making a difference.
With your unwavering help, we will reach more and more patients so I can proudly return back to you all with the progress we are making!
We could not do this work without your support! Thank you for caring about Haitians in these small villages.