[1]The following is an excerpt of an article in the Boston Haitian Reporter [2], a monthly publication.
In his Pulitzer-prize-winning book, "Mountains Beyond Mountains," author Tracy Kidder tells of Dr. Paul Farmer's passionate work providing medical care to the poor in Russia, Peru, Cuba and Haiti.
In the book, Dr. Farmer recalls working as a medical volunteer and how a young, pregnant Haitian woman with malaria and her unborn baby died at the L'Hopital St. Croix in Leogane
Stories such as this one inspired Antoinette Hays, dean of the School of Nursing and Health Professions and her colleagues at Regis College in Weston, Mass., to improve nursing conditions in Haitian hospitals in collaboration with Partners in Health (PiH), a charitable organization founded by Farmer, Ophelia Dahl, Thomas J. White, Todd McCormack and Jim Yong Kim.
Hays says, "About two to three years ago, I met Paul and Ophelia, and they inspired me tremendously....I asked how we could help."
Hays; Nancy White Street, an assistant professor; and another colleague traveled to Haiti last November on a trip sponsored by Partners in Health.
They visited two hospitals and met with an enthusiastic Haitian nursing faculty who gave them tours of classrooms, libraries and other sites.
As a result of this trip, Regis College and Partners in Health entered into a two-pronged partnership.
First and foremost, the college would train Haitian nursing faculty.
Street acknowledges that all the details haven't been worked out yet. However, she says this training, which might include online education, "would enhance Haitian nursing faculty's expertise and demeanor."
The second part of this initiative involves a six-week program to train Haitian operating room nurses in Massachusetts and then have them return to Haiti to train others.
In Haiti, this part of the initiative's success will be assessed by PIH staff.
In the fall, a Regis faculty member and a course coordinator will visit the hospitals and the Haitian nurses to support them if necessary.
Last month, the first four Haitian nurses successfully completed the program. They work at two hospitals in the Central Plateau.
Myrlene St.-Vil Marius and Myrlene Astremond Taveus work at L'Hopital Bon Sauveur de Cange, which is owned by Zanmi Lasante, the sister organization to PiH.
Lydie Presnar works at L'Hopital Notre Dame de la Nativite in Belladere. The fourth nurse was unavailable for an interview.
All the nurses received their training at L'Ecole National D'Infirmieres de Port-au-Prince (ENIP) and were selected to participate in this initiative
partly because they show leadership potential.
The training entails clinical experiences at Boston Medical Center, where they observe American doctors and nurses; work in a lab once a week; and biweekly graduate coursework focusing on perioperative, preoperative and operative nursing at Lawrence Memorial Hospital in Medford, Mass., where they are assigned an interpreter.
"Of course the interpreter can't explain everything," says Presnar. "The advantage we have is that we already have operating room experience. In fact, we've taken exams in English and passed them....We just can't put things into practice in Haiti because we don't have the resources."
Taveus and her colleagues are excited about returning home to share what they have learned.
"In Cange, hopefully the operating rooms will be renovated...so we can meet all needs," says Taveus. "We'll work with our colleagues and share what we have learned about operating rooms here so the work can be even better."
"From what we saw in Boston, we see that we're very far," Presnar says. "But we think after completing this program, we'll request that some changes are made so that the work will be done better."
Some of these changes will probably involve the physical layout of the operating rooms as well as standardizing the actual processes of care according to Hays. Otherwise, the nurses agree that nursing is a universal field.
However, Marius admits, "Technology here is more advanced than in our hospitals. This is an excellent initiative. If it could continue, it would be great for operating room nurses in Haiti."
Street is excited about the collaborative relationship evolving between Regis and Haitian nursing faculty.
"I want to return to teach in Haiti and have their faculty come here," she says.
Hays adds, "This is a long-term commitment. Ultimately, we want to help Haitian faculty teach their nurses."
Regis' nurses will need financial support, however, to help them with travel expenses. Hays suggests that donations be made to: Regis College Nursing Program-Haiti Initiative, Regis College, 235 Wellesley Street, Weston, MA 02493.
Source: bostonhaitian.com [3]
Copyright 2008 New England Ethnic News, EthnicNewz.org. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express permission of the news source. Contact Newz for more information.