Orthopedic Surgical Program

In the aftermath of the January 12, 2010 earthquake (in addition to tackling immediate relief needs) RMF moved forward with a comprehensive long-term strategy for sustainable health services to help rebuild Haiti’s shattered public health system. RMF coordinated the setup of a primary healthcare clinic in the Pernier neighborhood (east of the center of Port-au-Prince). The clinic is currently running under Haitian management and staffing, bringing healthcare access to more than 15,000 local Haitians. RMF’s focus on the development of basic healthcare will continue as we work to establish additional clinics in critically underserved regions.

Since the days immediately following the earthquake, Real Medicine has re-focused on sustainable health services development projects to meet the long-term healthcare needs of the local population.

Initial Weeks

• Established medical staffing
• Dispersed medicines and medical supplies
• Developed strategic coordination to help meet the surging needs of the health crisis on the ground

2010 – 2011

• Provided free clinic services at Hôpital Lambert Santé Surgical Clinic in Pétion-Ville
• Offered quality healthcare to patients in need of primary, secondary and even tertiary care
• Provided for more than 1,800 consultations and 450 surgeries over this time frame

Current

Orthopedic Surgical Support Program

• Began in 2012
• Provides complex surgeries and longer term follow-up treatment for children and adults suffering from chronic or acquired orthopedic conditions ranging from congenital deformities to posttraumatic impairments
• Generously supported by Child Survival Fund
• Most patients were selected from St. Vincent’s School/Hospital which once cared for children with cerebral palsy, orthopedic, congenital, and trauma related deformities, but was destroyed in the 2010 earthquake

Six Years Later

Much progress has been made in rebuilding efforts, but there is still much work to be done:

• Social and healthcare status remain dire and worsening because of the now dwindling presence of NGO-run Primary Healthcare Clinics
• NGO-run Primary Healthcare Clinics remained disorganized and unstructured and did not define a clear and continuous pathway for the patients in search of diagnosis and treatment
• Secondary and tertiary care continues to be desperately lacking

Orthopedic Surgical Support Program

Our dedicated surgical team of two orthopedic and trauma surgeons and one anesthesiologist perform specialized orthopedic procedures at the Lambert Santé Surgical Clinic in Pétion-Ville.

A Work in Progress

• RMF is continuing to provide complex surgical services and multifaceted follow-up care
• Focusing on patients with major deformities, aiming to improve their functionality and subsequently to optimize their chances to thrive as active members of their communities
• Child patients are able to regain the capacity to walk, to do so proudly, free from society’s discrimination for their visible and incapacitating conditions
• Child Survival Fund continues to provide funding