This post was written by Marlene Rickert, Medical Director for Hope for Haiti Foundation
It is a beautiful day in Haiti. Warm and sunny. I am staying in a guesthouse with a group from Minnesota and Wisconsin who is very glad to be away from the cold.
Staying in Port-au-Prince is not home like Zorangé, but the staff here have been very helpful. Today, Dr. David Tillman, Ashley Alfonse, Kim Sniffen, Valerie McConnell, Marion Bailey, Elade and I will travel to Zorangé from Port-au-Prince.
One of the main purposes of this trip is to continue our partnership with Campbell University; it is growing through our head intern Ashley Alfonse. Ashley is studying at Campbell’s School of Public Health and has been instrumental in bringing Campbell and Hope for Haiti Foundation together. Today, Dr. David Tillman will be looking at our clinic and school in Zorangé to see that it meets Campbell’s requirements as an established clinical site. We had Campbell students from the school of public health and the physician assistant program last summer. Having Campbell approve this as a clinical site would allow students to get credit for their work in Haiti and provide them experience in global health.
A second purpose of the trip is our continued collaboration with midwives in Haiti. Kim will be meeting with midwife director Nadene Brunk and spending some time at Midwives for Haiti School in Henche. Our own nurse from Zorangé, Pierre Lise, will complete the program in March and return to Zorangé to head maternal health there.
A third goal of the trip is investigating how we can improve dental care. Marion Bailey, a dentist from Medical Missions of Memphis, will take the long trip to Zorangé to see how our two organizations might best work together. Medical Missions of Memphis has been working in PAP for sometime now and is establishing community health worker connections similar to what we have done. While there is some dental care available in Bainet and Jacmel, it is quite basic and many cannot afford what they need.
Please pray for safe travel and good work for us today.
Marlene
