Haiti: Hurricane Matthew Relief Effort
Teaching Healthcare Through Music: July-December 2017
March 15, 2018
Dr. Patrick Dupont
Summary of Activities
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; a responsible and socially conscious hospital, Centre Hospitalier Sainte Marie (CHSM); new health education partner SPEC Institute; and support from LDS Charities, RMF has been able to implement a larger community outreach project, which we believe can greatly impact improved access to quality care and be a stepping stone towards a sustainable model of social involvement of the private healthcare sector for the benefit of all.
Community Outreach & Rehabilitation Effort (CORE)
Overview
With primary funding pledged to RMF’s activities in Haiti after Hurricane Mathew’s destructive path through the southern portion of the country in 2016, we decided to capitalize on our goals as well as CHSM’s vision and care programs to implement a Community Outreach and Rehabilitation Effort (CORE) project.
The CORE project has 6 major components, all connecting cogs working together to provide the following services:
- Empowering education to prevent communicable diseases
- Affordable family and emergency care to treat conditions endemic in these population groups
- Surgical care to increase the level of services available to low-income families
- Mobile clinics to bring health care directly to communities
- Secure regular monitoring of health indexes and finally a disaster relief program already in place and quickly deployable when needed
Two of the envisioned 6 components of this community outreach project were fully developed between the summer of 2017 and the first months of 2018, as the health education and orthopedic surgical programs have continued to move forward and make great advances.

Results &
ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Health Education Program
Establishing Health Clubs
The end of 2017 saw the completion of our first healthcare education mission, where we focused our efforts on establishing viable health clubs in communities reached through the development of the ADYS program (Ale Di Yo Sa, literally translated “Go Tell Them This”). This innovative healthcare message delivery system is simple and efficient. During the implementation of the health clubs in the communities, the outreach teams sang and taught 10 folks songs to the children and adults registering and participating in the club’s activity.

Orthopedic Surgical Program
New Partnerships and Practices
Selection and screening of new patients continued throughout the end of the year 2017, but the first previously selected 10 children could not be treated during the December vacation because of social and civil unrest. After meeting with the Ministry of Health and Population and other social organizations likely to require our surgical services, RMF decided to implement a new approach and practice regular monthly surgeries, scheduled as the patients become available for treatment instead of our previous 1- to 2-week sessions.

2017 Health Festival
Learning Through Music
The program also played a key role in the realization of a mass awareness activity: the 2017 Health Festival. The event was sponsored by the Ministry of Health and Population and numerous organizations and institutions participated. It is estimated that over 700 people attended the Health Festival. Attendees received valuable information on preventive health measures and learned about our health outreach program and educational songs.

Starting a Radio Show
Spreading Healthcare Information
Among the other accomplishments of the program, a weekly radio show discussing health topics and interviewing healthcare professionals has been implemented and continues to broadcast on a regular basis.

Global Handwashing Day
Creating Community Engagement
To celebrate Global Handwashing Day on October 15, the program launched community activities in the locations where the outreach team was implementing the health club that day, including Port-au-Prince, Pétion-Ville, and especially Carrefour. Through education and demonstration, a total of 6,000 hands were washed.

More
Photos
Click to enlarge




Numbers
Served
Persons Registered in Health Clubs
July-December 2017
More than 1,100 people registered in the newly established health clubs.


More Reports on: Hurricane Matthew Relief Effort Archive
Country Page: Haiti
Initiative Page: Hurricane Matthew Relief Effort