Media Center > News Releases > Story

Helping the People of Fond Des Blancs

Indianapolis, IN (October 18, 2001)- Mike Hoyt, TriMedx Team Leader for the Biomedical Engineering staff, Indy hub, and Susan Wynne, Senior BMET, Jacksonville, FL, recently returned from Haiti. They traveled to Fond Des Blancs, a city approximately 75 km from Port-au-Prince. TriMedx was asked to help set up and repair equipment for the Saint Boniface Hospital.

Mike and Susan arrived in Port-au-Prince on September 16, 2001, and began the trip to Fond Des Blancs just after their plane landed. Mike was quickly reminded of the severe poverty of the country, since he had visited Haiti before, but Susan was amazed at the primitive lifestyle. Even though parts of the capital city seem modern, most Haitians lack basic life necessities, such as clean water and sufficient sewage systems. On this trip, Mike mentioned that it was the first time he had seen a working traffic signal during his travels throughout Haiti.

It was dark when they arrived at the hospital guest quarters. The sun goes down around six o'clock, and there was no electricity. All that could be seen was an occasional lantern or firelight. Mike stated that during the day, a diesel generator powers the guest quarters and operating room. But the 20-bed hospital, which consists of various exam and procedural rooms, a laboratory, and a pharmacy, is powered by solar energy.

Getting to the Task at Hand

The next day at the hospital, Mike and Susan began work on setting up a steam sterilizer; however, they soon realized that an external steam source was required and there was no built-in steam generator. The hospital was unable to use the unit since it did not have the necessary power. Fortunately, a smaller self-contained unit was found that fit the needs of the hospital.

Next, Mike and Susan went to work on the operating room. They had two electrosurgery units, two monitors, an infant warmer, two suction pumps, and two pulse oximeters. They also assembled a Drager Narkomed anesthesia machine that was rebuilt by Drager - it came in five boxes. Two small lights and one large operating room light were tested and set up. An old Burdick EKG machine was tested, and after the lead select switch was cleaned, it worked fine.

While at the hospital, they received a call from a physician who was trying to run an EKG on a lady suffering chest pains. The EKG machine, an old Hewlett-Packard single-channel, was not functioning. The stylus was broken, so they were able to bring in the Burdick unit for the physician to use.

Life in Haiti

Mike and Susan had a little time to talk with one of the physicians who told them about families and traditions in Haiti. The physician stated that it is customary for them to wrap a baby's head with a tight band to promote the closure of the fontanel (the baby's soft spot on top of the head). Babies are also tightly banded around the chest to make them strong. The doctor added that discussions about sexual matters are taboo, so few adults truly know how to plan their families. Many families have more than five children.

Most of Mike and Susan's encounters with the locals were very favorable. They visited a market that was packed with thousands of people. The merchants sold beans, rice, bananas, soap, chickens, goats, donkeys, and many other necessities. Susan was surprised by the number of children who begged them for a dollar. She added, "The people were very clean -- even their homes were clean because they appreciate everything they have."

On a more humorous note, Mike observed a similarity with the U.S. "Saint Boniface has the same problems a lot of hospitals in the states have -- a lack of adequate parking spaces!" he said. The hospital actually has to rent a lot to accommodate the overflow of their "transportation of choice"... donkeys!

Susan referred to Haiti as a paradox. There is extraordinary beauty in the scenery and the people, yet they live with horrible conditions and have little hope for change. Still, Mike and Susan felt they got a lot accomplished at Saint Boniface, and they are sure that TriMedx will be invited back soon.