Haiti Feb. 29, 2012

The guest house we stayed in was the same place we would see patients in so it was nice and convenient. After breakfast with good Rebo coffee, we went upstairs to see patients who arrived early waiting patiently for our arrival. Myself, an ER doc and a nurse from the states with Haitian staff saw patients that day, I also had a young aspiring nurse Katie working with me. After being trained, she helped take histories and do some of the physical exams on patients. It was nice to have staff helping out in the pharmacy. The pharmacy was fairly well stocked with medications. In contrast to places we did mobile clinics at, this clinic seemed to have patients who were relatively healthier, perhaps because they live in the surrounding area and can get regular follow-up care at the clinic, sort of a haven. The need for mobile clinics is vast as many patients do not have access to health care or money. The Christian based clinic has a Mom-tot program for moms w limited resources who can be sponsored w food, classes and parenting techniques from pregnancy until children are 3. My favorite thing about working at this clinic was being able to start the day with devotions and pray for individual patients. This helped in the deliverance of compassionate care. We finished the patient care mid afternoon. The cooks made a delicious lunch (with picklies, plantains and sweet potatoes) and dinner (vegetarian mix of vegetables with rice and peas served with mangos). I slept upstairs in the same clinic room I’d be working in which was much better rest after I removed a large spider from the room.