The St. Boniface Haiti Foundation and St. Boniface Hospital continue to be part of relief efforts and health interventions in the wake of the earthquake.  We have started a number of initiatives and will continue to do everything possible to ease the suffering in the wake of this unprecedented disaster.

1. We have been asked by the U.S.S. Comfort to start receiving patients who underwent surgery on thier ship and now need post-op care.  Helicopters should start landing in a field next to the hospital by noon today.  We have agreed to take as many patients as we can hold and our staff will be working closely with the medical staff of the Comfort in order to ensure a smooth transition of care.  We are also partnering with Catholic Relief Services to ensure adequate supplies, housing, and food.  Donations to support the hospital and to support the care of all our patients are extremely welcome.
2. Our recently completed Villa Clinic was destroyed by the earthquake, but this has not prevented our staff from organizing a new clinic in a neighboring church.  Without these crucial primary health services, the desperately poor population who relies on the clinic would be without any access to care.  We will continue to do everything possible to ensure a continuity of care despite no longer having an adequate building to provide these services.
3. Dr. Miliane Clermont, a long-time St. Boniface employee, is spending this week as an ambassador from St. Boniface to a few make-shift refugee camps in Port-au-Prince.  Hundreds of thousands of people have fled to these makeshift camps (usually nothing more than sheets and sticks) throughout the capital.  Dr. Clermont will be working with a couple of these settlements to help their leadership identify needs and eventually provide basic services.  

St. Boniface continues to do everything possible to ease the suffering in the wake of the earthquake.  We thank you for your continuous support and generosity.

Conor Shapiro, MPH

Director

[1 comments]

Submit a comment:

Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.