Recent Reports

Centre Hospitalier Sainte Marie (CHSM) is a new private hospital located in downtown Port-au-Prince, the country’s capital. The hospital dictum is “Put the patient first,” and this motto is a primary motivator in their work, as evidenced by their pursuit of methods and resources to organize affordable quality care packages for the Haitian population. They describe themselves with pride as a “socially conscious private hospital” and believe that better access to care requires ample resources, both human and material, as well as the establishment of partnerships with third-party payers.

CHSM is willing to align its operations with donors…

In 2016, the KPS project achieved the goal of organizing structures put in place by the community in more than 21 municipalities across Haiti. In these communities, training sessions were carried out for more than 500 community health promoters to implement the messages of the book Konesans Pou Sove Lavi (KPS), translation Knowledge to Save Lives.

In their communities, these health promoters are called ambassadors of health. The role of these ambassadors is, officially, to create health clubs in their communities around the key messages of the KPS book. The fact is that these ambassadors…

Medical Treatment and Community Outreaches

RMF’s Presence

Thus far, in installments over a 4-year period, 60 children have received specialized elective surgery, including preoperative biological and imaging screening, as well as follow-up visits, radiographic evaluation, and wound dressings to treat their conditions. Their complete treatment from screening to final healing has been made possible at a mere fraction of what these procedures would cost, allowing these children to be rehabilitated in such a way that their own future and contribution to society can be greatly improved.

Now with the help of our dedicated surgical team;…

Since our first involvement in Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake, Real Medicine Foundation (RMF) has focused our efforts on strengthening existing facilities that wish to offer quality services to less fortunate groups. First, we teamed up with CDTI Hospital in the post-earthquake emergency phase, and we later promoted the idea of public/private hospital consortium with a strong and organized social component. The hospital consortium project, linking 4 major private facilities, became the second healthcare project green lighted by the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC) after the Mirebalais Hospital.

Since sufficient funding was never reached to implement the…

Since our first involvement in Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake, Real Medicine Foundation (RMF) has focused our efforts on strengthening existing facilities that wish to offer quality services to less fortunate groups. First, we teamed up with CDTI Hospital in the post-earthquake emergency phase, and we later promoted the idea of public/private hospital consortium with a strong and organized social component. The hospital consortium project, linking 4 major private facilities, became the second healthcare project green lighted by the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC) after the Mirebalais Hospital.

Since sufficient funding was never reached to implement the…

Background

Since arriving shortly after the January 12, 2010 earthquake, RMF has continued to move forward with a comprehensive long-term strategy to implement more sustainable health services development in Haiti and help rebuild the shattered health system. RMF made free health services available at Lambert Santé Surgical Clinic in Pétion-Ville from 2010 to 2011, offering quality health care to patients in need of primary, secondary, and even tertiary care; more than 1,800 consultations and 450 surgeries were provided during this period.

Orthopedic Surgical Support Program

Since 2012, RMF has initiated an Orthopedic Surgical Support Program in Haiti, which…

Background

Since arriving shortly after the January 12, 2010 earthquake, RMF has continued to move forward with a comprehensive long-term strategy to implement more sustainable health services development in Haiti and help rebuild the shattered health system. RMF made free health services available at Lambert Santé Surgical Clinic in Pétion-Ville from 2010 to 2011, offering quality health care to patients in need of primary, secondary, and even tertiary care; more than 1,800 consultations and 450 surgeries were provided during this period.

Orthopedic Surgical Support Program

Since 2012, RMF has initiated an Orthopedic Surgical Support Program in Haiti, which…

Haiti’s healthcare system remains very disorganized. Despite efforts undertaken by the Haitian Ministry of Health and Population (MSPP), funding and logistical help from international organizations in many areas of the country, and numerous NGO-run primary care centers in many of Haiti’s ten regional departments, access to care, let alone quality care, remains, at best, limited and dysfunctional.

In the public sector, hospitals and healthcare centers are plagued with a chronic lack of funding and scarcity of medical supplies. Consequently, patient care is often limited and dependent on a family’s capacity to buy, out-of-pocket, the needed supplies…

Last year, with generous donor funding, Real Medicine Foundation was able to provide specialized orthopaedic care for 20 children and adults who were desperate for treatment of their post-traumatic or congenital ailment, which was preventing them from thrivingor taking care of responsibilities and their families’ needs.

This year, after a very successful first program and very good results, we are following up with another group of 20 patients, currently incapable of enjoying normal lives as children or starting a meaningful professional life as young adults.

While never losing sight of our…

Etienne Cherly, 12 years old

PATIENT HISTORY

Injury sustained during the earthquake in January 2010 as the house she was in, collapsed to the ground. Étienne was on the balcony when the earthquake happened and fell one floor down. Later immobilized in a cast and relocated to the province. No follow-up on the injury and non medical cast removal ensued.

Could not find a facility to evaluate and address her problem after the earthquake, where she was located. 

DIAGNOSIS

Evolutive Genu varum with post traumatic Femur,…

Our new Surgical Support program is providing surgeries and follow up treatment for Children and Adults in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.  We will be posting the photos and updates on these surgeries periodically.

Berline Masse, 7 years old

DIAGNOSIS

Bilateral Tibia Vara

TREATMENT GOALS

Block the growth cartilage on the lateral side of the tibia with staples to incur growth on the medial side, thus improving deviation and hopefully any subsequent  deviation.

PATIENT HISTORY

The patient was apparently diagnosed with this condition at 4 years of age. She has only been…

Our new Surgical Support program is providing surgeries and follow up treatment for Children and Adults in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.  We will be posting the photos and updates on these surgeries periodically.

Berline Masse, 7 years old

DIAGNOSIS

Bilateral Tibia Vara

TREATMENT GOALS

Block the growth cartilage on the lateral side of the tibia with staples to incur growth on the medial side, thus improving deviation and hopefully any subsequent  deviation.

PATIENT HISTORY

The patient was apparently diagnosed with this condition at 4 years of age. She has only been…

Project Goal:

Improve the Quality, Accessibility and Sustainability of Public Healthcare, through Public/Private Partnerships in a scalable manner. In addition to this core goal, RMF seeks to provide building coordination among health services agencies and organizations involved in the relief efforts and strengthen Haiti’s overall health services sector over the long-term through sustainable development practices. 

Project Objectives: 

Two years have now passed since most of Haiti's infrastructure was devastated by a magnitude 7 earthquake, and while there has been some considerable progress made in rubble clearing and somewhat in rebuilding efforts, there is still much work to be done.

Social and healthcare status remains dire despite the proliferation of primary care clinics all around the most affected areas of the country and more so around Port-au-Prince. While a very positive initiative, giving more people access to basic care, sadly the effort remains disorganized and unstructured and not defining a clear and continuous…

On the two year anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti, Cheryl Mills, the Counselor of the U.S. Department of State and Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton writes the following blog about the progress of development efforts in Haiti two years after the earthquake.

Full blog here:

http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/entry/haiti_two_years_post_earthquake

Project Goal: Improve the Quality, Accessibility and Sustainability of Public Healthcare, through Public / Private Partnerships in a scalable manner. In addition to this core goal, RMF seeks to provide to build coordination among health services agencies and organizations involved in the relief efforts and strengthen Haiti’s overall health services sector over the long-term through sustainable development practices.

Project Objectives:  Continue funding to allow permanent free clinic at Lambert Santé Surgical Clinic, a facility which since the January 2010 earthquake has never stopped providing much needed care to public patients. Through utilization…

Humanitarian Bulletin update (July 26th-August 18th 2010)

OVERVIEW

Full text of document is in PDF below:

Project Objectives:

1) Continue funding to allow free clinic services at the Lambert Santé Surgical Clinic, a facility which since the January 2010 earthquake has providing much needed care to public patients. Through utilization of monthly funds provided by RMF, this free clinic has found ways to continue offering quality healthcare to patients in need of primary, secondary and tertiary care: • Primary care services (general, pediatric and trauma consults) • Emergency care • Maternal/child healthcare • Secondary and tertiary care for medical & surgical conditions, • Rehabilitation and counseling for amputees

…

Cholera and Post-Earthquake Response in Haiti: April 15th, 2011

The following report was compiled by the The Ministère de la Santé Publique et de la Population (MSPP) and PAHO, the Regional Office of the World Health Organization (WHO) for the Americas,coordinate the Health Cluster. MSPP Cluster Contacts: Dr. Claude Surena; Dr. Jean Hugues Henrys; PAHO/WHO Contacts: Dr. Juan Carlos Gustavo Alonso and Dr. Josep Vargas.

Highlights • The number of cholera cases nationwide continues to decrease. The number of cases in Northeast, Centre, Port-au-Prince, North, Northwest, Artibonite, West (except Leogane-Gressier), South, Grande…

Project Objectives:

Continue funding to allow permanent free clinic at Lambert Santé Surgical Clinic, a facility which since the January 2010 earthquake has never stopped providing much needed care to public patients. Through utilization of monthly funds provided by RMF, this free clinic has continued offering quality healthcare to patients in need of primary, secondary and tertiary care, offering : • Primary care services (general, pediatric and trauma consults) • Emergency care • Maternal/child healthcare • Secondary and tertiary care for medical &surgical conditions, prosthetic-fitting, rehabilitation and counseling for amputees  

Develop a Consortium…

OCHA HAITI Humanitarian Bulletin (01 – 17 February 2011) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – http://ochaonline.un.org

OVERVIEW

PROTECTION OF IDPS Evictions a growing concern

Threats of evictions from IDP camps are rising. The…

Now, more than 11 months after the catastrophic events of January 12 and the devastating blows to its already impoverished socio-economic state and structures, Haiti’s population is facing many other day-to-day hardships and obstacles, and two new foes:

1. An unprecedented cholera outbreak, which started in October and has already claimed more than 2,000 lives and touched roughly 92,000 Haitians while hospitalizing more than 42,000 of them [PAHO EOC situation report # 16, December 6, 2010].

The Ministry of Health, enrolling many partners amongst the already widely established primary care NGOs has responded promptly to…

Situation Overview

The situation in Haiti is urgent and will only become worse over the coming weeks. One month after the initial cases of cholera, 24 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are now providing cholera response health services in Cholera Treatment Centers (CTCs) and Cholera Treatment Units (CTUs). Throughout Haiti, 36 CTCs are operational with a total bed capacity of roughly 2,830. These centers atheir current capacity will not be sufficient to meet the population’s needs as the outbreak grows.  

A serious concern has become ever increasing pressure on CTCs to treat patients. Renewed emphasis must be…

The Government of Haiti has established an emergency response center at the National Palace to better coordinate a national response to the cholera outbreak. The center has representation from key ministries, including Communications, Health, and Finance, Haiti’s water and sanitation authority DINEPA (Direction Nationale d'Eau Potable et Assainissement), and representatives of UN agencies and bilateral organizations. The goal is to streamline activities and information for a multi-sectoral response.

Full report in PDF below

HIGHLIGHTS/KEY PRIORITIES

Situation Overview

According to the National Meteorological…

Real Medicine’s free clinic at Lambert Santé in the Pétion-Ville suburb of Port-au-Prince has continued to service both post quake victims’ needs in follow-up surgical treatments and physical therapy.

Despite the interruption of other partnered funding (ALIMA) in August, the free care provided in this surgical clinic relies on both RMF’s participation and the surgical clinic’s own resources. RMF funding is providing resources, both with respect to medical supplies as well as medical personnel. At this time, we are employing 2 nurses and 3 residents to ensure some of…

Information by OCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs)

At approximately 3pm local time on September 24th a storm with high winds and rain struck the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area for about 30 minutes. The storm was not predicted and no warnings were therefore issued. Thus far, five people were confirmed dead and there are several reports of injuries and people being trapped under fallen trees and collapsed shelters. The camp management and camp coordination cluster (CCCM) currently estimates 2,000 tents damaged or destroyed in camps across Port-au-Prince. Assessments of damage are ongoing and these numbers…

Real Medicine has been on the ground in Haiti since the second week following January’s magnitude 7.0 earthquake, working to bring sustainable healthcare to underserved populations in Port-au-Prince.

Our work during the initial weeks was focused on the provision of volunteer medical staffing, in-kind medical supplies and strategic coordination to help meet the surging needs of the health crisis on the ground. Working in close partnership with many relief organizations on the ground, we:

• Organized deployments of volunteer medical specialists to meet the needs of partner hospitals and clinics in Port-au-Prince. • Provided…

This series of video clips was shot by RMF’s Kevin Connell in the St. Pierre Square tent camp in Pétion-ville, an upper-class neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. This is a small tent camp set up in a public square but one of the largest tent camps in the city is located on a nearby golf course with an estimated 50,000 people occupying. Voluntary settlements like these were set up in virtually every square or open space in the city after the disaster. These clips give you a little more insight into the living conditions that most of the Haitians displaced by…

As we pause to mark the somber six month anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti and the 230,000 lives lost, it is worth noting not only the significant achievements of the international aid community but also how dire the situation remains and the immense challenges that lie ahead. Most of the 1.5 million Haitians that were left homeless are still living in the immense tent cities due to the sheer scale of the logistical and legal challenges of rebuilding literally hundreds of buildings on mostly private property. The health care system is still in tatters, and struggling to…

Sean Penn made a powerful point in his speech to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday in his update on the reconstruction efforts in Haiti. He reported that the international community’s unprecedented support after January 12th has not made its way to the community fast enough, citing excessive caution at the hands of the decision makers in writing the checks. Mr. Penn said that the “bureaucracy of international aid is protecting people to death”, arguing that in trying to avoid the problems of aid to Haiti that have taken place in the past like corruption and aid-dependency, the…

Real Medicine has continued to push forward its strategy for healthcare in Haiti. Our partnership with Lambert Santé has been building traction over the past few weeks. The hospital has already hired 3 out of 4 new medical residents to join the core staff at the hospital and is working on hiring 4 nurses, which we expect to happen over the course of the next two weeks.

This critical increase in the rotating core medical personnel at the hospital will go to support 24 hour emergency care, continued post-operative care for earthquake-related injuries and general practice medicine. The…

May is almost here and Real Medicine’s projects in Haiti are moving forward into the second phase of the reconstruction efforts.

We’ve signed an agreement to begin supporting Hôpital Lambert Santé in Pétion-Ville, Port-au-Prince, a 14-bed private facility set in the upscale hillside suburb of the capital. Six months ago the facility was a state-of-the-art clinic that specialized in plastic surgery, focused on serving the elective healthcare needs of this middle to upper class Haitian community.

But with the earthquake, the needs of the community permanently shifted. Most of the…

After a three-week hiatus from Haiti to help present Real Medicine’s strategy for the country to key contacts in Washington, including a Director on Obama’s executive committee at the White House, it’s been very strange being back on the ground in Port-au-Prince.

I’m not sure what has specifically changed. The crush of relief workers, military personnel and patients is less pronounced but still ever-present. There is still unbearably bad traffic in the mornings and afternoons on the major arteries, UN peacekeepers / Haitian police continue to prowl the streets and setting periodic roadblocks, and the…

Pernier Clinic – Real Medicine has completed the initial setup and transition of the Pernier clinic over to local management. Currently, the clinic is in the process of completing the identification and hiring of a core staff of local medical staff, under the direction of Yanick Roseau. To date, the clinic has three full-time nurses (including Yanick), a part-time OB/Gyn physician (on Fridays), an accountant, three translators, a security guard, a cleaning lady and a messenger. Over the next few weeks, Yanick plans to identify 1-2 full time physicians and a pharmacist to complete the process. In the meantime,…

Mel and Joshua Say Goodbye – Part 1 from Real Medicine Foundation on Vimeo.

Mel and Joshua Say Goodbye – Part 2 from Real Medicine Foundation on Vimeo.

Mel and Joshua Say Goodbye – Part 3 from Real Medicine Foundation on Vimeo.

Joshua hasn’t always had this much attention. He was found after the earthquake hit by some rescue workers who were searching through the rubble for survivors. Joshua was significantly dehydrated, malnourished and bleeding profusely from deep lacerations to his arm. In the aftermath of the…

Delmas 33 Tent City

President Obama, commenting on the precarious situation in Haiti after his meeting with…

The latest OCHA situation report from the UN reports that while the immediate emergency needs (food, water, health care) in Port-au-Prince are being covered, organizations continue to deal with many requests from outlying areas.

While the Port-au-Prince and directly surrounding area suffered the highest levels of destruction, the other provinces of Haiti have seen an inflow of over 400,000…

We made a great connection tonight with a supplier from Portlight.org working out of Quisqueya University. The school was shut down after nearly all of its building collapsed in the earthquake, but it is currently being used (along with the other Quisqueya schools) as a staging point for relief operations.

As mentioned in the previous post, our partner, Sacred Heart Hospital, has been inundated with amputees for weeks without the proper human or physical resources to treat them. In our efforts to get help with supplies, one of our contacts here in Port-au-Prince Tweeted a request for physical…

Real Medicine, in partnership with Chadasha Foundation, has been allocating volunteer medical professionals to Sacred Heart Hospital (Hôpital Sacré Coeur) near the heart of the city to help in ongoing treatment and rehabilitation services. One of the biggest challenges in Haiti is rehabilitating the new population of amputees. The first few weeks are critical to getting these patients mobile as much as possible, strengthening what physical resources remain in the process. Oftentimes this process is more mental than it is physical.

Today I had a chance to catch up with a physical therapist working as part of our…

Haiti Situation update: February 17, 2010:

Just over a month after the earthquake, and with the arrival of the rainy season just a few weeks away, the challenges for the international aid efforts in Haiti are still monumental.

As of February 15th, the national civil protection agency in Haiti estimates that approximately 217,366 people died from the 12 January earthquake, and other sources estimating that number to surpass 250,000. Current estimates are that 97,294 houses were destroyed and…

There has been a lot of activity in Port-au-Prince in the past few days. Overall in Haiti there has been a lack of coordination between medical facilities and suppliers. In response, Real Medicine has been networking with hospitals, NGOs, and UN agencies to build our own network to support the continued efforts at our clinics and partner facilities. The solidarity of the Haitian people, particularly through our partner, the First Baptist Church in Pernier, has been a major asset in maintaining our efforts despite the lack of coordination from the international players.

We were…

Despite substantial progress made by the international aid agencies in coordinating food and water distribution, challenges continue as many, out of sheer desperation, cannot wait for help to arrive. On our way home from the UN compound last Friday, crowds overthrowing food and water delivery trucks entering Port-au-Prince stopped traffic.

As tensions rippled through surrounding communities, our clinic in Pernier was being transformed into a food distribution center. Over the weekend a tractor-trailer dropped off food supplies, which were stored on the first floor of the clinic. When news spread that there was food…

We saw 166 patients at our medical clinic in Pernier, Port-au-Prince, on February 3, opening day; already more than 200 today.

(L) Pernier, Port-au-Prince Medical Clinic; (R) Dr. Martina Fuchs and Michael Lear at the opening ceremony and healtcare education event on February 3, 2010

(L) One of the many patients with an amputation; (R) Part of the team on opening day, including RMF's Kevin Connell and Nurse Carolyn

Real Medicine Foundation will open its first clinic in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, tomorrow, Wednesday, February 3! Patients have already been lining up yesterday when they saw first signs of cleaning, carpentry, stocking medical supplies in a 2-story building in Pernier 19, Port-au-Prince. We’ll have 3 examination rooms on the first floor as well as waiting and triage area, and 3 examination rooms on the second floor – pediatrics, internal medicine, minor surgery, OB/Gyn including deliveries and day beds. We’ll also have our own lab and will provide rehabilitation, physical therapy and prosthesis outreach for the many amputated earthquake victims. Lab…

At a meeting today with the US Army and the World Food Programme, we were updated that everyone is very aware of the precarious food and water situation. The extent of the disaster is of a magnitude that no one has ever experienced before.
Today, a 2-week effort was launched by USAID and the UN to feed the nearly 2 million homeless earthquake victims. 10,000 metric tons of rice, beans and oil are coordinated per day targeting at least 1,700 families per day through 16 distribution points. Because there are no warehouses to store food, distribution efforts are coordinated with…

Refugee camp – St. Peter's Place, Petion-ville

On Friday, January 29, we got an overview of at least 10 refugee camps holding hundreds of thousands of refugees, that seemed to be very much out of the way and not in the spotlight yet. We were led by 3 young Haitian men, one of them who lost his house in the earthquake, was living on one hour of sleep per night and was trying to help the victims of the earthquake as much as he could with the resources he had left. Under…

Real Medicine deployed to the Dominican Republic on Wednesday, January 20, and began performing assessments on the Jimaní border hospitals, the Good Samaritan and the Hospital Melenciano, which have been receiving patients from Haiti since last week.

Both facilities have been overloaded as more patients arrive and the demand for post-operative care increases. Patients with pins sticking out of flesh, with amputations, and many children in body casts line every hallway and ground space.

All of the patients at both hospitals had arrived via ambulance (if lucky enough), or piled in the back of flat bed…

Real Medicine's team is headed to Jimaní on the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. We have identified two hospitals our doctors and nurses are able to work out of. Jimaní is the border town most overwhelmed by severely injured Haitians seeking medical help. Our contacts on the ground are reporting that severely injured patients are arriving in containers, often 30-40 persons in one container. Many of them requiring amputations. We are accepting more doctors and nurses, especially trauma/ortho surgeons/nurses and anesthesiologists. We will continue to report from the ground. Thank you for your ongoing support making this…

Real Medicine Foundation is presently assembling a logistic and medical team to deploy as early as Sunday evening to aid in the efforts on the ground in Haiti.

The recent report from the Pan American Health Organization/WHO highlights the main challenges facing the massive humanitarian effort underway.

Please help us to help by donating here.

Emergency Operations Center Situation Report #1
 – Haiti Earthquake

One day after a devastating earthquake struck Haiti, information is still difficult to obtain. The PAHO/WHO office in Haiti has been unable to communicate with national health authorities…