Among all the priorities, which are the most important? Can we even prioritize?
The mission of Hôpital Sacré Coeur of Milot is to provide high quality care to the community and its surroundings, guided by a strong sense of service and Christian compassion, respecting the dignity of every individual, regardless of his or her faith, economic status or disease.
In this belief, the organization is constantly trying to upgrade itself in a continuous quest for quality improvement.
This quest for quality and customer satisfaction is accompanied by a proportional increase of resource requirements, which are becoming more and more limited. The very difficult daily question remains, among all of the priorities, which ones should we put first? Should we reduce the number of pregnant women coming to the hospital? Should we limit the number of patients living with HIV staying in the hospital? Should we close the Intensive Care Unit? Should we strengthen our emergency department and close the Intensive Care Unit? Should we stop the continuing education activities? Should we cut our staff? Should we continue treating the patients with cholera? What alternative sources of energy could we use to reduce our fuel expenses?
It is fairly difficult or even unethical for a hospital manager to answer these questions in haste. It is obvious that none of these issues are mutually exclusive. They are all part of a large spectrum and their complementarities are evident. One cannot deny care to a pregnant woman who arrives at the hospital, because in Haiti, each year 630 pregnant women die for every 100,000 live births. We cannot limit the number of patients tested for HIV and syphilis, or deny care to those who have tested positive as we continue to have the highest rate of infection for both of those diseases in America and the Caribbean (2.2% for HIV and 5.5% for syphilis). We cannot stop training our human resources who are the driving force in our system. Our staff should be acknowledged as the central element in the high level of quality care and customer satisfaction we have attained and that we aim to maintain, if not approve upon. Closing the intensive care
unit is an unfathomable option given that at this time we are one of only two facilities in the Northern Department of Haiti with an intensive care unit, for an estimated population of over two million inhabitants.
These facts shift us to the “no choice” side of the coin in regard to the difficult questions with which we are being faced. Instead, we have an obligation to strengthen those activities and face the challenge of finding the needed resources to fulfill our mission and vision in order to continue being a center of excellence in Haiti.
We will continue to use each and every dollar you have so generously donated, in the most efficient manner, to continue saving the lives of those who are thousands of miles away from your homes, your countries, and your sights, but not your hearts. With your financial support we do not have to choose from among our patients who should live or die.
We can simply continue to treat everyone that comes through our doors, from the baby with a routine and easily treated diarrheal disease, to the 30 year old woman with cardiac valve issues.
Thank you for your generous support! God bless you!
-Harold Prévil, M.D.
