January, 2012 Medical Mission
HAM's first mission of 2012 successfully took place between January 7th and the 14th. Dr. Tracee and Paul are currently working in New
Zealand, so HAM board members, Dr. Leslie
Mihalov and Dr. Janine Flood led the team on this medical mission. Joining the January team were HAM mission veterans Judy Bradley, Nurse Terrie Hostetter, and Dr. Marlie Dulaurier. During their week long stay, Dr. Flood, Nurse Terrie and Judy worked to set up the new Noel Dusan Eye Clinic within the Centre
de Santé Communautaire de Dumay, and seeing eye patients. To read more about the Noel Dusan Eye Clinic, click here. Doctors Leslie and Marlie saw patients at the Centre
de Santé Communautaire de Dumay and at General Hospital in downtown Port-au-Prince. General Hospital is a teaching hospital where HAM's Haitian medical director, Dr. Jacques is on the faculty and is a resident surgeon. One of the Dumay patients is pictured below.
 It was originally planned that HAM board member Connie Ray and her husband Bill Ray would join the team late in the week and continue on to Port-au-Paix on the north coast of Haiti where they will visit the Hope for the Children of Haiti school, a primary school for which HAM provides the funding
for teachers salaries. The plan was for Connie and Bill to speak with staff,
students and families of the school to help evaluate the current
structure and needs of the school. Unfortunately, Connie and Bill had to postpone their trip due to personal health concerns, but they hope to reschedule their visit for sometime later this year. The Hope for the Children of Haiti school, started by HAM longtime staff member and eye technician, Charles
Herrard, has been receiving funding from HAM since 2008 and we are the
primary funder for the school (read about the school by visiting the
project page, Hope for the Children of Haiti School).
To read reports and see pictures directly from the mission, Click Here.
September/October's Mission
During the end of September and the first part of October, HAM founder and medical director, Dr. Tracee Laing, and HAM board member and director of operation, Paul Hammond, were in Haiti for their third and final mission to Haiti of 2011. This small team worked intensely with HAM's Haitian medical director, Dr. Jacques, and the Dumay clinic staff to evaluate the ongoing cholera epidemic in the area, and plan for addressing the health care needs of the community of 20,000 served by HAM's Dumay clinic for 2012. The mission was quite successful and you can read their posts and see pictures sent directly from Haiti by clicking here.
Dr. Jacques and family at their home in Port-au-Prince, taken during the the September/October mission.
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Successful 5th Annual
Art from the Heart
in Asheville, NC!
Grace
Covenant Presbyterian Church hosted their fifth annual silent auction of
Haitian Art in Asheville, N.C. on November 13th to benefit the work of Healing Art Missions in
Haiti. The silent auction, and special dinner and live auction the night before, helped raise over $10,000 for HAM's projects in Haiti.
HAM thanks Grace
Covenant Presbyterian Church, their congregation and the community of Asheville for their generous ongoing support. If you would like to know more about the church, please visit their website at www.gcpcusa.org/.
Why Art from the Heart?
When Dr. Tracee Laing first went to Haiti in 1997, she saw not only the
tremendous medical needs of the people, but also the beautiful art the
Haitians created. Realizing the suitcases she and her teams used to
transport the medications needed for their medical missions would be
empty at the end of the trip, she had an idea; purchase Haitian art from
the artists to bring back to Ohio. In Granville, she organized Art from the Heart,
a silent auction of Haitian art in which she raised awareness and funds
for her work in Haiti. With the funds raised from this event, Dr.
Tracee purchased medications for her next mission to Haiti, and came
upon the name for the non-profit organization she would create to
support her work, Healing Art Missions.
Read about Art From The Heart in Granville, OH
this past May, and see pictures of the event
by clicking here
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Cholera Continues to Plague
Dumay and all of Haiti
Well over a year since cholera was accidentally introduced into Haiti, the entire country continues its battle with this deadly but treatable disease. According to the World Health Organization, as of November 30, 2011, the cumulative number of reported cholera cases was 515,699, of which 279,077 (54%) were hospitalized and 6,942 persons had died. Cholera is a waterborne highly contagious disease that is easily treated with rehydration
and antibiotics. However, without immediate treatment, the cholera can quickly dehydrate the body causing the circulatory system to collapse and death within hours.
HAM's cholera clinic in January, 2012
In the community of Dumay during 2011, HAM's cholera clinic treated approximately 2000 patients, with the average patient stay at the clinic lasting three days. The rainy season ended in November and with the decrease in rain has come a reduction in the number of patients being treated in our cholera clinic from an average of 20 per day in November 2011, down to 8 per day during the first 20 days of January. Unfortunately, this reduction can not be attributed to improvements in clean water and effective
sanitation, two of the most important factors in winning the war against cholera. We anticipate patient flow at the cholera clinic to spike again come May, when the rainy season begins again.
HAM's cholera clinic, the only official cholera treatment center in the region, provides oral and IV treatment therapy and antibiotics to anyone suffering with cholera at no cost and has been open 24/7 since November of 2010. Staff includes doctors, nurses and support staff responsible for keeping the facilities clean and disinfected, and crucial factor in curbing the spread of this highly contagious disease. While the Haitian Ministry of Health has recently provided an additional nurse to support the cholera clinic, HAM pays the salaries all other staff and direct costs to HAM of operating the clinic exceeds $2,000US each month. Fortunately, we have developed important partnerships with some of the major international NGO's working in Haiti, who have donated approximately $450,000 worth of medicines and medical supplies during 2011 to support this vital program. These partners include UNICEF, PLAN International, Direct Relief International, América Solidaria (Chile), Bundesrepublic Deutschland (Germany), AMI (Portugal), and Promess (France).
 Patients getting sunshine at HAM's cholera clinic, January 2012
HAM is committed to continue providing cholera treatment as well as primary health care to the community in excess of 20,000 in the area of Dumay. With the continued support of our donors in the US and our partners in Haiti, we fully intend to operate the cholera treatment center as long as necessary. However, we realize that to realistically address the root of the cholera crisis, our community must have better access to clean water and effective
sanitation. We are currently looking to partner with other organizations specializing in these areas who have the resources and experience to address such issues within the community of Dumay.
Please consider helping us
continue our cholera response work by supporting this important work. Click
here to find out how to contribute now.
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