HCS Port au Prince Clinic
Port au Prince Clinic
Six months is not a long time. However, in the life of a Haitian in post quake Haiti it can seem like an eternity.
Haiti Community Support began providing emergency/first responder clinical care within three days, post quake, to the victims of Haiti's disaster. From initially providing care through clinic services set up under a tree, under the direction of Mathilde Aurelien Wilson, HCS quickly grew it's clinic initiatives to begin the first of it's Mobile Clinics. Development of the Mobile Clinics was a mandate. HCS had to get to those that could not get to us. The Mobile Clinics have become the mainstay of countless Haitians for their health care.
Six months after the devastation wreaked on Haiti by the January 12, 2010 massive earthquake, Haiti Community Support, Inc. has opened the doors of the HCS Port au Prince Community Health Center, as of July 12, 2010— the six-month anniversary of the quake. Offering free health care and services to the Port au Prince community of Bon Repos, and surrounding areas, HCS is in the final phases of renovation and reconstruction of this quality construction, quake-safe, walled compound. The HCS Mobile Clinics also utilize this facility as "home base" for operations. Haiti Community Support continues setting up its mobile clinics daily, reaching out to those who have little access to care, living in tent cities on Port-au-Prince's outskirts
The HCS Port au Prince Community Health Center, comprised of an eight room building, has been coordinated for triage, maternity care, primary care consultations, a pharmacy, lab, kitchen and office. The clinic provides medical care and services to approximately 100 patients, five days per week, from this new facility.
In the spans of time, post quake, HCS has risen to the challenge to expand operations, address unmet needs, save countless lives, and have empowered Haitians to help themselves, their neighbors, and, ultimately, their country.
HCS was there before the quake, and we remain. Permanence is what is now needed. Long-term presence and support is the strong foundation that will provide Haiti permanent improvement. HCS remains in place---helping Haitians help Haiti. Our focus is to make life better for people by taking care of one person at a time.
Au Centre/Beaumont Health Center
In the summer of 2006, we coordinated the first doctor and pharmacy visit to the town to give our students check-ups and some life-saving interventions for some of the worse-off older folks and others.
We are now operating every day to treat a minimum of 80 patients with chronic diseases. It’s only medical facility in this impoverished region. We also serve as referral to other organizations that offer more sophisticated interventions.
Ongoing
This requires maintaining regular visits from a nearby town doctor, establishing a dispensary for drug prescriptions and 2 nurses and health care workers.
We will also recruit and train five health agents to conduct an in-depth health and economic census of all households in our area. This census will help us understand the scope of need for ongoing medical care and also provide the data with which to launch the inoculation program.
Inoculation Program
Polio is a disease that had once all but disappeared from Haiti, but was now coming back due to a lack of inoculations. One 12 year old boy in our village has been stricken by polio and now spends his life sitting in the dirt in front of his family’s hut.
Polio is a disease that had once all but disappeared from Haiti, but is now coming back due to a lack of inoculations. Infectious diseases are especially devastating to undernourished children and elderly. As our health clinic and census data base is established we will institute a comprehensive immunization program.
Read the Virgin Islands Daily News article about our new clinic
