WE ARE HAITI VILLAGE HEALTH
Haiti Village Health was founded by a Canadian Emergency Physician, Dr. Tiffany Keenan, and a dedicated group of medical professionals who all share a love of Haiti and a belief that access to health care and medicine is the right of everyone.
Haiti Village Health is dedicated to the provision of front line medical care, health education and nutritional support in places where no such services have ever existed. It is dedicated to working with the villages in which is serves to ensure access to clean water and sanitation through liaison with other like minded organizations. It, like the people with whom it works, is dedicated to self-sufficiency and sustainability. Its goal is to assist the people of rural Haiti with the future they are building with their own strong hands.
Dr. Keenan, who has worked in Canada, Bermuda, Congo and Haiti was first introduced to the village of Bod Me Limbe during a visit to the North of Haiti while working in the Capital, Port au Prince in early 2006. After returning later that year and completing a needs assessment and attending a series of meetings with the village leaders the first 2 week clinic was scheduled for February of 2007. During that first clinic alone Haiti Village Health’s Team of 14 Physicians, Nurses and Paramedics treated over 1,200 people from the region, provided de-worming medications to every child, offered a pre and neo natal care clinic and provided maternal vitamins to all female patient of child bearing age.
A permanent Clinic named Sante Pou Yo or Health for All in local Creole, is now open and staffed 5 days a week by a Haitian trained nurse and 2 days a week with a Haitian trained Physician funded through Haiti Village Health. Teams travel to Bod Me Limbe 3-4 times per year to provide specialist services and conduct public health education, village outreach programs, family planning and childhood nutritional support. A series of composting toilets have been constructed improving sanitation, drainage has been improved and mosquito nets have been distributed reducing the incidence of malaria and we continue to work with other organizations to improve the village water supplies. In addition to our medical staff we have several local personnel who maintain the clinic and toilets as well as collect trash for burning and keep drainage channels open to keep mosquito breeding grounds in check. A locally constituted Sante Pou Yo committee comprised of men, women and youth keep us informed of how efforts are recieved and continue public health education. All of our in-country operations are under the management of our local Medical Program Coordinator in keping with our philosophy of local personnel and management are the only key to sustainability.
Haiti Village Health works hand in hand with the Haitian government, the local villagers and other like minded NGOs to ensure that the people of northern Haiti can use their strong hands to build and even stronger nation.
