In a world of fast food, throw away stuff and constant change, resiliency rarely makes the prized value list. At Hôpital Sacré Coeur, resiliency is the cornerstone of more than five decades of success. No matter what the circumstances or conditions Hôpital Sacré Coeur encounters, they take stock, face it head on and as the late, HRH Prince Philip of Edinburgh wisely advised others, simply “Get on with it.”
At times, living and working in Haiti is an art form born from experience, knowledge, and intuition. While adaptability and resilience foster hope, at its core, resilience takes courage and faith. Hôpital Sacré Coeur, the patients, and the donors evidence that steely willed determination by refusing to let the gut-wrenching bumps and perilous twists of today reign victorious tomorrow.
Project CRUDEM started in 1968. More than 50 years later, the mission, now known as Haiti Health Promise of Holy Name, stands strong, thrives, and routinely expands. We cannot emphasize enough how extraordinary that record remains. A staggering 10,000 NGOs (non- governmental organizations) have broken ground in Haiti. All seemingly intent on helping others and making the country a better place. Few will make it past the first year. Only a fraction will mark a third or fifth anniversary while Hôpital Sacré Coeur marches on toward its sixth decade. An astonishing track record and legacy.
Under the careful guidance, expertise and determination of Holy Name Medical Center, Hôpital Sacré Coeur stands posed to go another fifty years… or more. Driven by their call to exemplify the healing ministry of Jesus and compelled by their culture of empathy and compassion, Haiti Health Promise of Holy Name brings its resources to Milot so Hôpital Sacré Coeur can “get on with it.”
In the last 10 years, Hôpital Sacré Coeur has performed an astounding 4,700,000 patient transactions. Almost 5 million times, people have placed their trust in the multiple services and medical expertise of Hôpital Sacré Coeur. Despite a mind-boggling array of natural disasters, economic, social, and political crises and crop destroying droughts, the hospital has faithfully delivered medical services to hundreds of thousands of people a year. No wonder Hôpital Sacré Coeur hales as a Haitian institution known for dependable healthcare excellence and routinely sets the national bar for medical standards and performance.
The hospital patients are truly master teachers of resilience. The children in the Pediatrics Diabetes Program lead the way. Each of the 119 participants — aged 5 months to 24 years — lives with Type 1 diabetes, an affliction with no cure. Each youngster must receive multiple insulin injections daily in order to live. There is no wriggle room with Type 1 diabetes: without insulin, the patient dies. It is that tragically simple.
Thanks to the immensely successful Pediatric Diabetes Program at Hôpital Sacré Coeur — one of the very few in the nation — these children receive insulin, medical management, group support and training. Some, like 14-year-old Francesca, have reduced her HbA1c level (the standard of care for diabetes control) to a stunning 7.7% — well below the goal of < 9%.
Like the other children, Francesca’s diligence, purposeful intent, and daily work has woven personal pride, self-confidence, and hope into her life.
Daily, the patients at Hôpital Sacré Coeur find the expertise and resources, provided by a compassionate staff, to handle a myriad of medical issues and put one resolute foot in front of the other. The patients’ resiliency offers thousands of inspiring examples every day.
Now, overlay those scenarios of daily medical risk and resilience onto the wider landscape of daily survival. Hunger and starvation has become the norm in a country already choked with suffocating poverty. On a walk through the region, you will meet the five-year-old girl who lives in a mud-covered hut and wakes up each morning with that same stabbing pain in her empty stomach… hunger. You will agonize with the worn weary mother who is filled with anxiety as she greets another empty sunrise wandering about the jungle near her village in search of something — anything — that she can feed her hungry children. You will empathize with the desperate father who walks miles to the city in hope that someone might employ his back to carry a heavy burden from one place to another.
The amount of inner strength, courage and faith needed to simply survive in Haiti brings to mind Albert Camus’ observation: “Sometimes, carrying on, just carrying on, is the superhuman achievement.”
As a donor, you impact in a most extraordinary way. You bring the ingredients for blessed relief and the resources that literally heal and bring hope. Your enduring financial support makes possible the continuing medical successes and treasured resources such as food, that offer survival and the possibility of fullness of life for the patients. Your obvious values of empathy, service, and respect for the lives of others showcase the precious cornerstones for a more peaceful and just world — the resiliency of vision that sees victorious tomorrows.
Every donation — large or small — is cherished and appreciated.
100% of your tax-deductible dollars goes
directly to help Hôpital Sacré Coeur —
the amazing, resilient hospital built and
sustained by generous individuals like you.
With our deepest appreciation and gratitude for you,
 Harold Prévil, M.D. CEO, Hôpital Sacré Coeur |
 Sister Ann Crawley, C.S.J.P. Hôpital Sacré Coeur Outreach |
 David G. Butler, M.D. Chairman, Haiti Health Promise of Holy Name Founded as The CRUDEM Foundation |
