HEI/SBH Inaugurates New Center for Infectious Disease and Emergency Care

(FOND DES BLANCS, Haiti) – Health Equity International/St. Boniface Hospital (HEI/SBH) officially inaugurated its new Center for Infectious Disease and Emergency Care (CIDEC) today amidst a gathering of staff, partners, and leaders from the communities served by the hospital. The CIDEC is the first emergency care and infectious disease treatment facility in southern Haiti that serves all patients, regardless of their ability to pay.

The CIDEC opened its doors on March 13, 2018, and has since served over 5,000 patients. Led by a team of highly-trained Haitian clinicians, the 33-bed facility provides staff with the space and equipment to treat a wide range of emergency and infectious disease cases. One of the many new features in the Infectious Disease department is six isolation rooms designed to provide patients with comfort and safety while keeping contagions such as tuberculosis from spreading to others. In addition, the new Emergency Department features and 11 “fast track” chairs for quick, low-acuity cases, as well as a dedicated room for small procedures to take place in private. A generous $500,000 grant from USAID’s American Schools and Hospitals Abroad program, through the generosity of the American people, provided the funding to build the CIDEC, and construction was completed by Build Health International.

HEI/SBH welcomed several esteemed guests to the inauguration, including the U.S. Ambassador to Haiti, Michele J. Sison; the Haitian Minister of Health, Dr. Marie Gréta Roy Clément; and representatives from USAID. The ceremony featured speeches from HEI/SBH leadership and local community leaders, as well as Ambassador Sison, Dr. Clément, and Dr. Jean Bernard Fevrier, Director of the Haitian Ministry of Health in Haiti’s Southern Department.

Several of the speakers highlighted how SBH became a hub for emergency care in southern Haiti after Hurricane Matthew devastated the country in 2016. The CIDEC inauguration felt particularly poignant to hospital staff and community members, as the celebrations coincided with the second anniversary of the storm. Just two years later, the CIDEC greatly enhances the level of emergency services SBH can provide to the estimated 2.3 million people who reside in the southern peninsula.

Ambassador Sison further highlighted the importance of emergency care in southern Haiti and crucial partnerships that helped to make the CIDEC a reality. “Today’s inauguration highlights the partnership between the American people and the people of Haiti,” said Ambassador Sison. “This Center for Infectious Disease and Emergency Care will enable the amazing doctors, nurses, and technicians here to respond to public health emergencies and tackle the problem of tuberculosis in the region.” With the official inauguration of the CIDEC, HEI/SBH continues in its unwavering mission to build a comprehensive, effective, and resilient health system that provides high-quality care to Haiti’s most vulnerable citizens.

For more information about HEI/SBH and its new Center for Infectious Disease and Emergency Care, please contact info@haitihealth.org.