Seven MMTF team members traveled to Hopital Ste Croix (HSC), Leogane, Haiti on October 15, 2011 to provide mobile medical clinics, work at the hospital, and visit FSIL and the PaZaPa center in Jacmel.  Trip members include Lisa Kerr Johnson, PharmD, RN, Mark Lindley, MD, Lisa Sprague, MD, Penny Woodhams, MD, Marilyn Reed, MSW, Rev. Brennan Pearson, and Bill Boggs.  Our team of medical professionals was joined at HSC by Haitian dentist, Dr. Emmanuel, DDS, 3 third year nursing students from FSIL; Antoine, Angeline and Mikarna and Milo, a Haitian health worker to make up our mobile clinic team. 

We traveled to villages on Monday through Thursday during the week and worked at HSC on Friday AM in the hospital clinic system with our Haitian colleagues and counterparts seeing patients. We provided medical care to 748 patients:  655 in mobile clinics, 55 dental patients and 38 patients at HSC.  We treated 420 adults and 273 children.   We saw and treated a variety of medical conditions, especially pneumonia, asthma and serious respiratory disease among the children and infectious conditions among many patients.  Vitamins and treatment for parasites was provided to all.   A dentist added to our mobile team was great, seeing many patients and pulling over 120 teeth.

Sunday AM we worshipped with Ste Croix church on the hospital complex site.  It continues to be housed in a temporary structure on the basketball court of the old school site.  During announcements Lisa and Brennan shared the love of First Pres with their congregation and Brennan added pastoral greetings. We shared communion during the service and MMTF made a donation to their church during offering.  After services, we again posed for a group photo on the steps of the old church (picture above), now destroyed post earthquake, at the same spot many of us had posed 2 yrs ago.  We toured the progress on the HSC school site where temporary school structures, a well with pump and latrines now exist from reconstruction.  The church reconstruction remains unscheduled at this time.

Brennan traveled to Jacmel, Haiti on Wed and Thursday to visit PaZaPa, one of our partners. He was able to observe the school for the handicapped and developmentally delayed children, the school for the deaf and accompany personnel on a home visit.  We delivered 6 months of seizure medication to the facility for the children who suffer frequently from these disorders.

The team was able to make a visit to FSIL with a short tour and meet Hilda Alcindor, Dean.  Mark, Brennan and Bill visited again Friday and discussed some future plans for possible musical initiatives. These 3 members sang for the FSIL students and also sang Friday AM in the clinic waiting area at HSC.   Wonderful!! (They did the choir proud!!)  Hilda sent the new van, purchased with a Seeley grant from First Pres, for us to use for clinic when we had limited vehicle support to travel to clinic. 

Much progress can be seen throughout Leogane post earthquake.  Much rubble has been removed around the city, many of the tent cities are now gone; including almost all from the FSIL site, and new construction can be found both in housing and businesses. HSC itself continues under construction and upgrades from PCUSA funds.

Thank you to the members of the First Pres congregation and mission committee for your continued donations, prayers and support of the Haiti MMTF.  We are planning our next trip for mid May 2012. You need not be a medical professional to make a HUGE difference in Haiti and assist the medical team.

Lisa Kerr Johnson, Haiti Team Leader