A monumental event in the recent history of HAH occurred
Friday…
Since the earthquake 4 years ago there has been continual
discussion about the deficiencies in our operating room facility. Various plans have been made to renovate it but
do to various challenges none have yet to materialize. About 6 months ago Dr. Geneus the medical
director asked me if we could move forward on getting the job done. I committed to doing it and a few minutes
later called my friend Jean Marc who runs a construction company here in
Haiti. I asked him when he could come
over and take a look at the project and he happened to be in the neighborhood
and told me that in 5 min he would be at the front door. This was actually quite coincidental because
often when I call him he is not even in the country. Initial plans were made and the collaboration
of many people began to take place. The
leadership at Loma Linda has enthusiastically supported the project and several
experts participating in the design and engineering have made trips down here.
I originally scheduled this trip with the idea that I would
be here for a few days to check on the mid construction progress. Not surprisingly start dates have continued
to be pushed back and construction has yet to be started. I thus made it the goal of my trip to set up
a provisional operating room and have everything removed from the existing
operating suite so construction can begin.
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| Mdme Clotaire and Francel |
When I arrived on Friday I first met with Madame Clotaire
who let me know that she was excited about the idea of getting construction
started and that they would schedule some meetings next week to finalize design
plans for a provisional operating room and then try to create a budget. I let her know that we had already
conceptualized the design and just needed to have her come up to the emergency
room to have the workers create some space as demolition of the OR was to start
on Monday. There was a pause and a smile
and within 15 minutes she was in the ER giving orders. Immediately the workers started moving the
furniture and groundbreaking was officially begun!
I then called Jean Marc to see if it might be possible to
launch the demolition on Monday. Fortunately
he said yes and that he would send his foreman over to review the plan on
Saturday night. By sundown Friday
evening only a fraction of the work was done, but much had been accomplished.
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| Workers Activate |
After a Sabbath afternoon hike up the hill we came back to
the hospital and worked late into the night disassembling shelves, moving equipment,
organizing materials, and setting up an entire new operating room. Fortunately by the time we had to leave for
the airport the previous operating room was cleaned out and ready for
renovation.
On Monday January 20 the construction crew arrived and
started demolition.
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| Moving Out |
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| Ready for Construction |
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