Haiti Earthquake Relief Projects

In the aftermath of the January 12th earthquake, Real Medicine is moving forward with a comprehensive long-term strategy for sustainable health services development in Haiti to help rebuild its shattered public health system.

Our work during the initial weeks was focused on the provision of volunteer medical staffing, in-kind medical supplies and strategic coordination to help meet the surging needs of the health crisis on the ground. Working in close partnership with other relief organizations, we:

  • Organized deployments of volunteer medical specialists to meet the needs of partner hospitals and clinics at the Haiti/Dominican Republic border and in Port-au-Prince.
  • Provided direct funding, medical supplies and pharmaceuticals to local health facilities and partner hospitals. 
  • Provided advisory services and coordination to local health facilities, including physical therapy support.
  • Coordinated mobile health outreaches, field clinics and food supplies to outlying villages overlooked in the relief effort.

Since those initial days, Real Medicine has re-focused on sustainable health services development projects to meet the long-term healthcare needs of the local population.

In this effort, we have coordinated the setup of a primary healthcare clinic in the Pernier neighborhood, east of the center of Port-au-Prince that is currently running under Haitian management and staffing, bringing healthcare access to more than 15,000 local Haitians. Our focus on the development of basic healthcare will continue, as we work to establish additional clinics in critically underserved regions. 

In addition, RMF entered into a partnership with Hôpital Lambert Santé in Pétion-Ville supporting their operations through a Free Clinic by funding additional physicians, nurses and medical supplies, and to help support public access to 24-hour emergency and general practice healthcare in the community. Pétion-Ville and the surrounding communes are home to more than 100,000 displaced persons, living in tent communities.
 RMF presented a comprehensive health strategy for Haiti to the White House and other government agencies, multi-national organizations and NGOs in an effort to raise funding and awareness. Our Hospital Consortium Project proposal includes three public/private partner hospitals in Port-au-Prince, calling for designating core health services responsibilities for each facility and building a comprehensive platform for subsidized public healthcare coverage in the local community.
 

Initiative Updates

February 20, 2010
We made a great connection tonight with a supplier from Portlight.org working out of Quisqueya University. The school was shut down after nearly all of its building collapsed in the earthquake, but it is currently being used (along with the other...
February 18, 2010
Real Medicine, in partnership with Chadasha Foundation, has been allocating volunteer medical professionals to Sacred Heart Hospital (Hôpital Sacré Coeur) near the heart of the city to help in ongoing treatment and rehabilitation...
February 17, 2010
Shelter and sanitation in preparation for rainy/hurricane season Rubble removal Medical outreach to outlying communities Cash for work programs Haiti Situation update: February 17, 2010: Just over a month after the earthquake, and...
February 11, 2010
There has been a lot of activity in Port-au-Prince in the past few days. Overall in Haiti there has been a lack of coordination between medical facilities and suppliers. In response, Real Medicine has been networking with hospitals, NGOs, and UN...