Gratitude from Haiti
On the 20th of March, 2017, the Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan Center for Health in Côtes-de-Fer was officially open to the community. It is the only hospital in the area and serves over 50,000 residents. Prior to its opening, people who had the means traveled more than three hours over rough terrain to reach the closest hospital. Many people died on route. Many never even had the option.
Here is the speech CMMB Haiti’s Country Director, Dr. Dianne Jean-Francois, gave at the dedication/inauguration:
“The first time I traveled to Côtes-de-Fer was in 2006. I was invited by a friend who was volunteering for St. Boniface clinic at the time. I was accompanied by a CMMB volunteer and former colleague, Dr. George Perrin. The road there was rough and it took us more six hours from Port-au-Prince. When we finally arrived, we found the health center flooded. The damage was extensive.
On our way back to Port-au-Prince, Dr. Perrin and I couldn’t help ourselves, we spent the entire trip brainstorming ways we could help the community. The first action we took was to send medicines, and this support continued for some time.
A couple of years later, in 2008, I traveled back to Côtes-de-Fer, this time with the senior vice president of CMMB at the time, Jeff Jordan. This time we visited with the Monsignor Guire Poulard. He was the Bishop of Jacmel at the time, but since 2011 is the Archbishop of Port-au-Prince. He asked us to support the health center and to include it in the network of faith-based health facilities that we supported around the country. It was the earthquake of 2010 that inspired the final push for our deeper relationship with the area.
The Earthquake of 2010 devastated Haiti
Côtes-de-Fer’s was so far away from and so remote that few non-governmental organizations served there. No one considered the area an ideal place to work. But CMMB saw otherwise. We assessed the situation. We witnessed the poverty and vulnerability of the population – the food insecurity and their lack of access to water, sanitation, and healthcare. Rather than focusing on the obstacles and challenges of serving in such a remote community, we recognized the opportunities and potential. These are the vulnerable and marginalized people that CMMB exists to serve. We began by providing medicines, supplies, and an ambulance to facilitate access to care. We continued conversations about building a hospital in Côtes-de-Fer, but at this particular time we were not talking about whether to build. Instead our conversations were about how to make it sustainable and best able to serve the community for years to come.
The first to get on board was Mercy Health, which at the time was known as Catholic Health Partners. Mercy Health provided a $2 million grant to build the hospital. CMMB committed to matching that amount.
The Mercy Health Mission Team in Haiti – March 2017
At this time we were developing our Children and Mothers Partnerships, which we call CHAMPS, and we came to envision the health center project as part of CHAMPS, the anchor for CHAMPS. Once again, Mercy Health was with us.
CHAMPS is a holistic and integrated package of clinical and community-based initiatives, targeting women, children, and families. It improves access to health services, water and sanitation, economic development, health education, and gender equality in order to reduce maternal and child mortality.
Since 2014, as part of CHAMPS activities, 987 mothers’ clubs have been formed. In these Mothers’ Clubs, community health workers – trained and trusted members of the very communities they serve – teach mothers the UNICEF’s 16 Key Family Practices protocols to keep their families healthy. The community health workers have also visited more than 12,000 homes to deliver health messages around nutrition and healthy pregnancies and deliveries. We also have an agronomist who has helped families plant and nurture 267 home gardens and to raise 346 goats distributed in partnership with Mercy Health employees. Families who are touched by these activities see results – less hunger, better health, healthier pregnancies, healthier babies, and much more.
One of the 346 goats distributed as part of CHAMPS – Haiti
Construction of the hospital finally began in February 2015 after community members donated almost 14-acre site where the health center stands today. After the donation, Hite Associates designed the master plan and the individual buildings. They are earthquake proof, and Hurricane Matthew left them virtually untouched. Hite Associates designs schools in the Carolinas, and working in Haiti is their way of giving back. They did the work pro-bono.
Olivine Milford and her youngest child in front of their home that was destroyed by Hurricane Matthew.
Construction of the buildings was completed by Haiti’s own De Mattheis Construction Group. They had someone on site 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They were pivotal in supporting CMMB during our relief efforts after the devastating impact of Hurricane Matthew.
The health center will be powered by a generator fueled in part by solar power. Homes for Haitians will be installing the solar system next month (April 2017). A special thank you to Mr. Reynold Bonefil of Haytrac/Caterpillar who graciously donated the generator.
So many people were involved in helping us equip the hospital: Carolina Health System packed a huge shipment that they had harvested throughout their network. We also had support from the Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach, Kentucky Health System, Xerox Corporation, Dr. Kathryn Close, and Lydia Coby. And once again, Mercy Health pitched in! Even our friends at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention helped, providing us with much needed technical advice.
This mission had a total of three phrases, and the first has just been completed. CMMB and its partners built a cost-effective 20-bed hospital, which includes dental, maternity, basic surgery, and primary care services. On the site there is also a guest house built to accommodate short-term volunteers who will come to perform specialty health services.
The first newborn at BJSH!
In the second and third phases, the center for health will expand by adding more specialized services, such as oncology and ophthalmology. CMMB will work with local partners and Haiti’s Ministry of Health, to transfer management and governance of the hospital over time.
The hospital was named in memory of the late Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan, a man who spent his life championing high quality healthcare and fighting for equitable access to the poor.
The Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan Center for Health that we will dedicate tomorrow is the culmination of a huge outpouring of kindness and compassion for the people of Côtes-de-Fer
On behalf of CMMB, I would like to formally thank all of the donors and supporters, with special thanks to:
- The Mercy Health System volunteer team who spent one week providing assistance to our local team to make the health center operational
- Former CMMB president Jack Galbraith and former board president Michael Connelly for believing in CMMB Haiti’s vision for the hospital.
- Current CMMB president, Bruce Wilkinson for accompanying us on the long journey between the vision and the reality
- Haiti’s ministry of health, for staffing the hospital
- And finally, CMMB Haiti staff for their relentless dedication and commitment to the project
A few days ago, dozens and dozens of Côtes-de-Fer residents made their way to the Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan Center for Health for registration and care. This included the birth of our first baby! Without all of you, the BJSH would not exist. Tonight we are celebrating the end of Phase 1 and the beginning of a strong health system in Côtes-de-Fer.
Thank you for joining us on our journey.”