Haiti Rehabilitation Centre

When the Rehabilitation Unit was built shortly after the devastating 2010 earthquake, disability rehabilitation in Haiti was almost unheard of. With the dramatic rise in spinal injuries during the earthquake, the need was huge and our unit quickly became a pioneering centre for treatment and rehab.

Thankfully there are now a few facilities in the country that can offer this kind of treatment but with spinal injury and stroke patients from across the country needing care, it is vital we work closely with the Ministry of Health and the other rehab facilities to ensure those who need it can access care regardless of where they are from.

Our Haiti team have recently been involved in transferring a patient from the south of Haiti up to our facility for urgent treatment. Here’s how one of the team described it:

’I just arrived in Port-au-Prince today from Cap Haitian, Haiti. I am working on a medical evacuation of a 34 year old lady called Yvrose, who fell and suffered a spinal cord injury. She’s paralyzed from the waist down and has no bladder or bowel control.  She’s been laying at home in this position over four months. Tomorrow I am trying to arrange a CT scan of her spinal cord ($300-500) and a medical emergency flight from Port-au-Prince to our Rehabilitation Unit in Cap Haitian ($555). Prayers for Yvrose and her recovery are much appreciated along with the resources to meet this unforeseen need.’

Many patients arrive at our Rehab Unit with seemingly very little hope. Paralysis is surely one of biggest challenges anyone can face, and in Haiti this challenge is multiplied many times. 

Yvrose will receive medical treatment and assessment, and then undergo a programme of therapies to build her strength and confidence. She will receive a wheelchair and have the chance to learn vocational skills and play para sports.

Many patients have left the unit being mobile, having a level of independence, with skills and prospects for the future. So we have hope for Yvrose that she still has a future ahead of her and we will work hard to make that happen.

Thank you fo supporting this project. 

After just one week here I am already impressed by the rehab centre at HCBH. My name is Bethany and I’m a Physiotherapist from the UK over in Haiti for one month. My first impressions were of a busy centre with lots of people working with patients. I soon learnt that there were 9 physiotherapy technician students working alongside the trained therapists. We managed to communicate with a few words in each other’s languages and the help of google translate!

 

I’ve been impressed by their enthusiasm, their practical therapy skills, and the range of patients they see, both outpatients and inpatients with spinal cord injury, stroke, brain injury and more. In the photo myself and student physio stand a stroke patient in the standing frame, which is easy to use and is an important piece of equipment to have in this type of rehab. Another student does bed exercises and stretches with an outpatient.

 

The few permanent physios oversee the unit and work with their students. Over the week, I was able to work alongside them and bring a few different treatment ideas and techniques. It’s wonderful to be on the other side of the world but be able to work together being on the same physio wavelength!

 

I’ve also been inspired by the patients. One young man in particular speaks good English and has shared his views of the rehab unit with me. He has been having rehab for several months following a spinal cord injury and feels the centre is highly reputed within Haiti. He says he’s making good progress but that it’s difficult looking forward to an uncertain future in a country where disability is still widely stigmatised.

 

He feels that while the centre is well maintained and he receives regular input, there is need for more equipment and training for staff and that more therapists would improve the amount of personalised input patients could receive.

Being the only centre like it in the north of Haiti the rehab centre does vital life changing work. Change and improvements are necessary for any service but these take time and investment. 

 

In the meantime, there is no doubt that the rehab done here hugely impacts so many patients improving quality of life and independence following illness and injury. I’m looking forward to the next weeks of working alongside the team and working out how I may be able to help with training and planning for the future.