HOPE Volunteers and Staff Visit Sacred Heart Hospital in Milot

A small team of Project HOPE representatives spent the day the small town of Milot on the fertile northern coast of Haiti to visit Sacred Heart Hospital-- founded in 1986 by Brothers of the Sacred Heart, Montreal, and run by the Center for the Rural Development of Milot (CRUDEM) foundation.

The town, which lies in the shadow of the famous Laferriere Citadel, was only mildly affected by the January 12 earthquake. Residents pulled together and it has become a haven for Port-au-Prince residents trying to find medical care. Within days of the quake, Milot’s mayor sent busses to the capitol to retrieve victims, who were transferred back to the town for medical care. Local residents are housing many of the recuperating patients and their families.

CRUDEM itself quickly expanded the capacity of the original 64-bed hospital building, adding a field hospital in the town’s elementary school yard. The facility consists of seven large Temper tents, now caring for 290 patients.

Project HOPE stepped in on January 24 to deliver $1 million worth of medical equipment—including a DynGlobal solar powered water purifier and Phillips mobile X-ray equipment and cardiac monitors. Today’s Project HOPE team was able to see this important gear in action, as well as tour the facilities to scout for future volunteer opportunities.

The group also included Stephan Krause, a documentary filmmaker representing Siemens, which has donated $4 million worth of medical supplies and equipment to the Basrah Children’s Hospital in Iraq, which was equipped in part by Project HOPE.

Because patients from the USNS Comfort had also been transferred to this hospital by helicopter for follow up care, several were familiar to the delegation. These included patient Junior Sainsmyer, a young engineer from Port-au-Prince, who called out to the team as they passed by his cot. He proudly held up his below-the-knee X-ray, taken on the Comfort, which revealed a handful of pins and other hardware embedded in both ankles. A small cast covered one foot and the other he flexed back and forth to demonstrate his mobility. “Thank you, thank you!” he said, a huge smile covering his face.

Photos and story by HOPE volunteers photo journalist Allison Shelley and nurse Carrie Alexander.

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