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BWH's Michelle Morse teaches HUM resident Bregenet Lamour best techniques for using and interpreting portable ultrasound equipment. Photo by Jon Lascher/Partners In Health.
The 180-bed Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais (HUM) buzzes with excitement and innovation. When you step inside, it's clear that its hard-working and devoted staff share the same vision of bringing world-class medical care to the Caribbean nation.
Roughly one year ago, on a former rice field in the central plateau of Haiti, HUM opened its doors, and the hospital's reputation of outstanding care spread quickly. Within the first five weeks, HUM cared for approximately 4,200 patients, 20 percent of whom were under the age of 15.
Michelle Morse, MD, MPH, a BWH hospitalist and Partners In Health deputy chief medical officer for Haiti, is amazed by what the hospital has accomplished in its first year.
"Its rapid growth is an unbelievable success story," she said. "The biggest achievements have been transforming what nursing care means and developing roles for nurse educators; the nursing team has been revolutionary. The hospital is also involved in quality improvement and has a new simulation space, both of which are instrumental to advancing patient care."
In HUM's first weeks, technology played a major role in patient care, which continues today. Cameras in operating room lights allow surgeons in remote locations to view operations in real time and offer consults. 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. Safe drinking water is available across the hospital, as well as reliable electricity, and wall-mounted oxygen covers 65 percent of the hospital, which has the capacity for 300 beds.
As a teaching hospital, HUM plays a major role in training future generations of health care providers and boasts its own residency programs. HUM followed the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education's international guidelines when creating its General Surgery, Internal Medicine and Pediatric residencies, which serve as models for training programs across the country. It also hopes to establish the country's first Emergency Medicine residency later this year.
"HUM has completely changed the landscape of care and education and is now widely accepted as the best teaching hospital in the country," said Morse. "I couldn't be more proud of the team."
A testament to HUM Human Resources, staff grew from 20 people in spring 2013 to 750 people currently, more than 95 percent of whom are Haitian. This involved finding qualified health care providers and staff interested in living in rural Haiti, and training and expanding their skill sets. Partners In Health continues to have a strong presence at the hospital.
Patients line up outside the Mirebalais hospital. Photo by Rebecca E. Rollins/Partners In Health.
"Brigham employees have been incredibly helpful in a variety of areas," said BWH's Regan Marsh, MD, MPH, HUM co-director of Emergency Medicine, who divides her time between BWH's Emergency Department and Haiti. "We are primarily there in a capacity building and supporting role. It's a real partnership between BWH and HUM not in any one domain, but encompassing education and training, clinical care and delivery, research, quality and safety and more. Patients are coming to us from all over the country with unbelievable needs. People recognize good care and speak with their feet by finding us."
Looking forward, Morse hopes HUM continues to advance the model of health care in Haiti, proving that tertiary, high-quality care and training can be provided in rural areas.
"We're interested in developing new models for innovative clinical services and want to expand to cancer care, nephrology care and intensive care, as well as other areas in order to take care in Haiti to the next level," said Morse.