Skip to contents
In This Issue:
From left: BWHers David Walton and Paul Farmer meet with Haitian Minister of Health Florence Guillaume, U.S. Ambassador to Haiti Pamela White and Chilean Ambassador to Haiti Mauricio Leone in the new hospital's Emergency Department.
Located on a former rice field in the central plateau of Haiti, Hopital Universitaire de Mirebalais (HUM) aspires to bring world-class medical care to the Western hemisphere's poorest nation.
"If you close your eyes, get on a plane to Haiti and walk into one of our consultation rooms, you'd never know you left America," says Michelle Morse, MD, a BWH hospitalist and director of Medical Education at the new teaching hospital.
Back in 2010, HUM was in its early planning stages when a catastrophic earthquake devastated Port-au-Prince and the surrounding area, killing more than 200,000 people. The earthquake also destroyed 80 percent of Haiti's medical infrastructure, including the national teaching hospital. The original vision for a small community hospital was scrapped and replaced by the urgent need for a new national teaching hospital. After three years of construction, HUM celebrated its official opening this spring.
The dynamic teamwork that brought HUM to fruition was reflected in remarks by the opening ceremony's speakers, including Haitian Minister of Health Florence Guillaume; Paul Farmer, MD, PhD, of Partners In Health and chief of BWH's Division of Global Health Equity; BWH President Betsy Nabel, MD; Partners HealthCare President Gary Gottlieb, MD, MBA; David Walton, MD, MPH, of BWH's Division of Global Health Equity; and Dean David Golan, MD, PhD, of Harvard Medical School.
HUM by the Numbers
Statistics from HUM's first five weeks
Number of patients: 4,239
Percent of patients who were female: 69
Percent of patients under age 15: 20
Percent of patients from primary catchment area: 83
Throughout the 300 inpatient and 30 consultation rooms, HUM leverages technology to improve patient care. Cameras in operating room lights allow surgeons in remote locations to view operations in real time and offer consults. A mobile CT scanner, the only CT scanner in Haiti's public sector and the fourth in the country, can be moved to patient rooms for those unable to leave their beds. Nearly 2,000 solar panels on the roof meet all the hospital's energy needs on a sunny day and provide back-up power in case of outages.
In its first month, HUM has already built a reputation for outstanding care. One elderly woman with a chronic cough went to a number of private sector physicians in Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince, but none were able to determine the cause of her cough. "She travelled many hours to HUM because she felt like she would get excellent care here," said Morse. "It's very exciting that this hospital is already regarded as a place to be seen for complex conditions."
Training is one of the main drivers of quality of care, but only 50 percent of physicians in Haiti have completed a residency. As a teaching hospital, HUM will play a significant role in educating future generations of health care providers, starting this fall when it opens residency training programs.
HUM also requires all its physicians and nurses to complete a certain amount of continuing education each year. While Haiti does not have a continuing education or license renewal process for clinicians, this requirement helps HUM ensure its clinical workforce is knowledgeable and up-to-date.
Weekly grand rounds are held at the hospital for all employees, from physicians to pharmacists, promoting solidarity and instilling the belief that everyone is a lifetime learner.
"This is not just a hospital, but a new way of thinking," said Haiti's President Michel Martelly.
Click here to view a photo gallery of the new hospital, also, be sure to check out the new BWH Global Health Hub, a blog where BWHers can share their global health experiences, at bwhglobalhealthhub.org.