President’s Update on Hôpital Sacré Coeur’s Life-Saving Programs!

Frere YvesDear Friends,

The sights and sounds of Carnival engulf me as I write to you from Milot. From the look of it, the gaiety of the crowds, their bedazzling costumes, and the non-stop raucous music, Carnival brings to mind any number of celebrations held throughout the world. But these festivities are so much more than just another community jubilee. As a lead in to the penitent season of Lent, Carnival signals a time of transition. And in Haiti, times of transition always mark potent crossings.

I had barely settled in to my own transition to the role President when I received the sad news that Frere Yves Beausejour, “The Father of CRUDEM,” had passed away on January 17 in Quebec, Canada. In 1968, when Brother Yves led a new mission in Milot called Project CRUDEM, access to basic healthcare was only a distant dream.

From the get go, Brother Yves focused, not on the externals of the landscape, but on the life-giving force that pulsed throughout the region: the spirit of the Haitian people. Brother Yves knew that the key to regional development lay not so much in the clearing of roadways but in the calling forth of the visions of the people he had vowed to serve. “I always insisted on participation,” he said. ”Nothing would be done without their active participation.”

TrainingSince the birth of Project CRUDEM and Dr. Ted Dubuque’s inauguration of Hôpital Sacré Coeur in 1986, transitions, active participation and the voices and visions of our Haitian sisters and brothers have remained pivotal in the creation of this premier healthcare center. The multitude of achievements at the hospital has come about from the give and take of collaborative efforts. The startling progression of our cardiac surgery program comes easily to mind.

In 1997, medical volunteer, Dr. Tom Pezzella, conducted two successful open heart surgeries at Hôpital Sacré Coeur, the first in Haiti. Over the next six years, as many visiting cardiac surgery teams performed additional life saving corrective cardiac surgeries.

Our collective vision however is not one of “doing for” but “doing along side.” At the request of the hospital staff, much effort has gone in to continuing education programs: nursing education, medical symposia, and clinical training. Under the guidance of Dr. William Battle of Georgetown University Medical School, an ongoing cardiac ultrasound program has trained Hôpital Sacré Coeur ultrasound technicians and introduced a sophisticated cardiac diagnostics capacity virtually unheard of in Haiti.

Barcode SystemNo modern hospital functions without logistical support. With the assistance of hospital staff, volunteers and the Humanitarian Software Foundation, a multiyear’s project to install a barcode system and institute an inventory control system nears completion.

The time and money saving procurement, tracking and requisitioning of essential and critical medical supplies helps empower the hospital and its employees as they reach a new level of professional competency. And ultimately, the patients benefit.

Last month, the years of logistical prep work and medical education came together as some of the finest cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons in the US joined forces with the Haitian medical staff to evaluate 36 cardiac patients. A dozen patients received appropriate treatment plans based on the readings of their 2-D echocardiograms.

A 22 year old Haitian woman underwent open heart surgery to repair a secundum atrial septum defect and a 42 year old woman received a Mitral valve replacement. In the process of saving lives, the bar of quality healthcare in Haiti jumped up several notches.

MedicalIn a country where heart disease is widespread and routinely untreated, the people of the region took another step forward toward a healthcare model previously reserved for developed nations.

While I watched with pride this healthcare transition, another change landed before me. After almost 25 years of dedicated and skilled service, Hôpital Sacré Coeur Executive Director, Dr Bernès Chalumeau, resigned his position and prepares for a new stage of his life. With sadness I accepted Dr. Chalumeau’ resignation and expressed all of our gratitude for his wisdom, guidance and years of incomparable service. Present Medical Director, Harold Prévil, M.D. has assumed the post of Acting Executive Director of Hôpital Sacré Coeur. With a new administration come new opportunities for a diversity of voices and their visions to be heard, sorted out and take form in even more new programs and infrastructures.

Haiti, like Carnival, has much running under the surface. Without the eyes to see and the ears to hear properly the very rhythm of Haiti strikes many as contradictory and confusing. But to those who catch the subtle riffs, blue notes and improvisations, the very syncopation of all that is Haiti is compelling and consuming. The diversity, rhythm and passionate spirit of Haiti resound in the history of Hôpital Sacré Coeur.

And so, as I watch the pageantry and drama of Carnival that marks the retelling of the past year before the reflection, corrections and preparations that mark the birth of a new season, I have much to celebrate and look forward to as we enter our second quarter century of standing beside our Haitian kin.

The Future of HaitiIn the face of transitions, our continued insistence on partnering with our Haitian community, our pledge to seed self-empowerment not dependency, and our commitment to the delivery of quality healthcare create a constancy of hope and realizable dreams.

In the midst of the inevitable tweaks and evolutions involved in organizational growth, the mission, principles and aims of The CRUDEM Foundation and Hôpital Sacré Coeur are constant and immutable. We shall continue to create a healthier Haiti – one dignified life at a time.

During this Lenten season, as you contemplate how the outstretched hands of Christ served the world, I pray you will response to that immeasurable gift of love and life by offering your own hands, hearts and resources to the celebration and continued growth of Hôpital Sacré Coeur.

Thank you again for all you have done and continue to do for our sisters and brothers in Haiti.

God bless you all!

David G. Butler, M.D.
President