Dr. Jacques continues to lead healthcare teams in Haiti under the name Healing Art Missions. He shared that even though there is a generalized mistrust of NGOs in Haiti due to corruption and misappropriation of funds, Healing Art Missions remains above the fray. HAM is trusted and respected by government officials, healthcare professionals, and the communities where we work.
Dr. Jacques has been focusing his work in the Nippes region at the Hôpital Ste. Thérèse de Miragoâne. Currently, 100% of orthopedic care in the entire Nippes region is being provided by Healing Art Missions and the vast majority of surgical care as well. Dr. Jacques has been performing many surgeries including complex procedures such as a tenorrhaphy, plastic surgery for a damaged ear, and the first laparotomy for peritonitis done in the region in five years.
Dr. Jacques, and his team of medical care professionals, continue to find ways to work around the nationwide lockdowns, travel restrictions, and difficulties accessing fuel and supplies.
When he is not performing surgery in Nippes, Dr. Jacques works with medical partners in Port Salut to provide telemedicine using WhatsApp video conferencing.
Additionally, he is working directly with the administration of the Hôpital Ste. Thérèse to establish a plan to address the lack of anesthesia and anesthesiologists in the Nippes region. Currently, there is not an anesthesiologist who lives in Nippes and the hospital relies on anesthesiologists from other regions to travel in when they are available. Dr. Jacques is working on a plan that would enable 24/7 coverage by anesthesiology, which would address this dire need. Additionally, he is identifying resources to ensure the proper anesthesia is available at the hospital, which is not currently the case.
In addition to Dr. Jacques’ services, HAM’s midwife Joël Saint-Cyr has been providing safe birthing services to the women of Nippes as well. During the lockdowns in Haiti, he has been the only midwife in the hospital and has been supervising the nursing team. In August, he delivered 18 babies—10 girls and 8 boys!
Healing Art Missions is able to continue providing healthcare to the people of Haiti thanks to our generous supporters. Thank you for making this work possible!