Provide Rehabilitative Care in Haiti During COVID

Hello STAND family!

      As I am sure you have heard, Haiti is experiencing extreme turmoil right now. The president has resigned and gangs currently have control of the country. There is no place that is currently safe in the capitol and chaos has taken over. Almost all of the healthcare facilities have closed in the capitol because they are out of supplies and the staff fear for their lives. Port de Paix is far away from all the chaos, but that does not mean that the lives of our community members have not been touched. Many of the families in Port de Paix have loved ones in the capitol and many have family members who have been killed or kidnapped. Additionally, the cost of all supplies has skyrocketed, and food insecurity is at an all-time high.   Our clinic in Port de Paix is safe and remains open, but we are one of the few places that is still able to serve our community. We are operating at reduced capacity as home visits are no longer safe and it is much harder for our patients to reach our clinic. That being said, our clinic still continues to see a full caseload of people who have had strokes, aches and pain, wounds, as well as  help with diabetes and high blood pressure management and education.

               This month we were sad to say goodbye to our PT Sam who is traveling to Canada to get her doctorate in PT. We are so sad to see her go, but very excited for her future and all the doors that this will open for her. We are thrilled to welcome Junior to our team. He will replace Sam as the PT at the STAND clinic. He is fresh out of PT school and comes to us with amazing ideas and strategies on how to best help the Port de Paix community. He is also from Port de Paix and is happy to be home again.

               Our pediatric clinic also continues to remain open, although at a much-reduced capacity. Children and their families come from all over Haiti to come to our pediatric clinic for clubfoot, casting, nutrition management and education. Since it is unsafe to travel from other parts of the country , many families have not been able to participate in the activities that the clinic has to offer. Our nutrition clinic is still running at full force although we are no longer doing home visits due to the safety of our staff. For the families who are able to come into the clinic we still offer the full array of pediatric services from physical and occupation therapy, splinting and casting to building medical equipment for the kids.

               We thank you for your support during these trying times. Our clinic remains open because of your support. We will continue to remain open as long as it is safe for our patients and staff.

Mesi Empil!