Friends,
We are both back in Haiti and hard at work. After being home in the luxury of the USA, it’s a bit of an adjustment. I flew in on Wednesday, but went back to Port au Prince on Thursday to try to find phones and internet. I found out that a store will only sell one SIM card (It makes a phone work and gives you your number) to a person. So I had to go to two stores to get two phones. Then when I wanted to buy an internet cell phone modem so we could have internet connections here at the hospital, I learned that the cell phone modems that plug into your USB slot do not work with Windows 7. Since that is what new computers come with, and we have new computers, we can’t use them. The store sent me to a competitor of theirs that has a modem that works with Windows 7, but when I got there and they found out that I live in Leogane, they couldn’t help me because they don’t have service in Leogane. This is standard operating procedures in Haiti, and an example of why things are so hard to do here.
But all is not lost. The hospital is working hard also. There are 8-10 Cuban doctors working in the hospital along with some of our Haitian doctors. They are competent. We are referring all surgical cases to Doctors without Borders, who are working in the field behind the hospital. Our doctors are working in 3 tents and in the Hospital chapel. One tent is doing tetanus vaccinations, the chapel is seeing pediatric patients, and the other two tents are seeing the rest of the patients. We are seeing about 200 patients a day, but with no long lines, because the patients are spread out around the yard. Our pharmacy is open and passing out drugs. We are running low on some drugs, but expect to get some this afternoon.
The area has plenty of trauma care. Besides the Dr without Borders hospital behind HSC, there is another 50 bed hospital over at the nursing school across town. And there is a group of Canadians with a small field hospital about halfway in between. Most of the broken bones have been casted and most of the stitching up has been done. The town of Leogane has never had so much medical care! Our needs for the long term are going to continue, however. Haiti has an enormous problem with high blood pressure and gastric problems. Mothers continue to have babies, and babies continue to get sick. Plus there will be a huge need for artificial limbs and physical therapy.
John and I are working on re-establishing a guesthouse for visiting groups of doctors. Perhaps we can find some PT and prosthetic folks to come and do some work. We have taken over the former nurses lounge. It has a kitchen area, a pantry area, a large gathering room, and a bathroom. Right next door is a divided ward where we think we can put 12 beds with another bathroom. Our ‘house’ will be two private rooms (think small) with a connecting bath that is across the hall from the dormitory. Then there is an open area where we have some salvaged living room furniture that everyone can share. It won’t be like the former guesthouse, but will suffice. The entire area doesn’t have water or power yet, but maybe in a couple of weeks, we could be operational. So start looking around for your friends to come for their Caribbean vacation, Haitian style.

Heading Back

Friends,

After several weeks in the USA, with lights that turn on, toilets that flush, cool weather, and fast food, John and I have decided that it’s time to go back to work. John left for Haiti last Saturday and I will leave this weekend. I’ll spend a couple of days in Florida, visiting with my Mom for a couple of days before going to Port Au Prince on a commercial flight on Wednesday.

John took a tent with him, but with luck, he may not need to use it. There is a ‘penthouse’ on top of the one-story part of the hospital, and he has moved into that. It’s almost luxurious. Although it’s a bit grimy, the roof doesn’t leak, it has a/c in one bedroom, and a toilet that flushes with a bucket of water. Fortunately, the hospital’s water and generator are working, and if it gets really hot, John has the key to turn on the generator. Bathing is in the shower, but with a bucket and a plastic cup, since the pipes to take the water to the hospital have broken. John took some repair stuff down with him, so maybe he’ll have it fixed by the time I get there.

Because the guesthouse is down, our job descriptions have changed. John will use his construction experience to oversee the repairs and reconstruction of the hospital and nursing school. I will use my mothering and nagging experience to help move the pharmacy and work with sorting out the operating suites. In March, Bob Sloan will come down to evaluate all the equipment and supplies to move them out of the one story part of the hospital. Then I think the plan is to demolish the one story part to make space for reconstruction of the operating rooms, the examining rooms, x-ray functions, and laboratory. This part of the hospital was subject to flood during rainy season and hurricane season, and that, combined with some damage from the quake, has tipped the decision to demolition and reconstruction. Those of you familiar with the hospital might realize that this will mean the loss of the fascinating electrical switching gear that was on the guesthouse end of the hospital. This area was always the most entertaining part of any hospital tour!

Of course, John and I will continue our personal goals of reopening a sustainable, Haitian run hospital to serve the medical needs of the people in and around Leogane. There are enough dedicated people in Leogane right now to treat the injuries from the quake. Of course, there will be long term treatment required for so many people. And that has added to the urgency of reopening Hopital Ste Croix. Because the visiting doctors are treating the patients and providing the drugs at no charge, the Hospital is doing the same. This practice has eliminated one of the main sources of income for the hospital. The other source of income, the guesthouse, has also been eliminated. So the task is more difficult now than it was before. Please keep the hospital and its future in your prayers. And, of course, remember the Haitian people also.

Suzi

P.S.
Friends in Austin have helped set up a blog for the hospital. Take a look at what we have published, and make suggestions about what you would find helpful. www.hopitalstecroix.blogspot.com

Initial blog

Hopital Ste Croix has been working continuously since the earthquake on January. We are currently holding clinic in the parking lot under the mango tree, as people are still hesitant to enter any building. The drugs from theguesthouse have been moved to the hospital pharmacy and are being given to patients as proscribed by the 5 doctors and residents working at the hospital. The x-ray facility and the laboratory facility are working.

Three days after the earthquake, Medicines Sans Frontiers moved a tent hospital into the eye clinic and the field behind the hospital, and are doing surgery in 3 operating rooms. Surgical cases that can not be done at the hospital are being referred to medicines sans frontiers or to a tent hospital that has been set up at the nursing school.

John Parker returned to HSC on Feb 14 to serve as 'clerk of the works' for the hospital and the nursing school. He will work to coordinate the repairs to both facilities, and to continue to work toward the opening of the in-patient functions of the hospital.

Take a look at the slide show on the right side of the blog to see the damage to the hospital. Watch this blog to stay current as decisions are made about the future of the hospital. Please keep praying that the hospital will continue developing into a stable, sustainable hospital for the people of Leogane.