The former President Bill Clinton visited Wednesday, August 1, the Hospital Bernard Mevs in Port-au-Prince, and announced a grant from the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund to improve the quality of healthcare at the Haitian hospital. The $442,100 grant to Project Medishare will help the U.S. nonprofit, together with Bernard Mevs, implement a medical training and education program for medical professionals.

Project Medishare's 16-month program will train 47 radiologists, lab technicians, and pathologists from Bernard Mevs and other local hospitals in the use of state-of-the-art medical equipment. Much of the equipment, including a 16-slice CT (Computed Tomography) scanner, was donated to the hospital in May 2011, but few Haitian staff are trained to use it.

During his visit to Bernard Mevs, President Clinton met with patients, staff, and medical directors at the hospital. He spoke with them about the value of Project Medishare's training program for Haiti's future. By focusing on capacity building in this sector, the Fund is promoting a Haiti with the strength to stand on its own.

Clinton Bush Haiti Fund board member and cardiothoracic surgeon, Senator William Frist, also visited Hospital Bernard Mevs last month to evaluate the program. "The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund's investment in Haiti's healthcare workforce is an investment in the long-term vitality of the whole country," Frist said.

Hospital Bernard Mevs is one of the only trauma, critical care, and rehabilitation centers in Haiti. In 2011, the hospital treated over 60,000 patients and performed 150 surgeries each month, many of them pro-bono. Bernard Mevs employs over 140 Haitian physicians, nurses, and support staffers, all of whom have received training from Project Medishare in the past year.

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-3001-haiti-health-a-scanner-at-the-cutting-edge-of-technology-in-haiti.html

HL/ HaitiLibre