HEI/SBH and GE provide Clinic in a Can to Partner Clinic

After Hurricane Matthew, GE generously donated two “Clinics in a Can” for HEI/SBH to distribute to partner clinics in need of basic clinic space and equipment. The first of these has now been delivered to a clinic in the Archaie region run by the Foundation for Hope and Health in Haiti.

Clinics in a Can are self-contained modern health clinics constructed in 20-foot shipping containers for distribution and placement in places with limited health facilities or recent natural disasters. They include solar power for electricity and can be used as stand-alone, self-sustaining clinics or to supplement space and capacity for existing facilities.

The community of Carries, Archaie, where one of FHHH’s clinics is located, is north of Port au Prince but saw significant effects from Hurricane Matthew in the form of flooding and landslides. The clinic is one of two operated by FHHH, which together provide free primary care and health services for the most vulnerable in their communities. The clinics were started after the 2010 earthquake by a group of Haitian-American doctors from New York, lead by Dr. Emmanuel St. Louis.

The clinic in Archaie recently began a birth attendant training program to help increase skilled birthing services for women in the area, and is actively working to increase the number of women who come to the clinic to deliver their babies. They assist around 75 births per month currently, and demand is growing. According to Dr. St. Louis, “We are in dire need to increase our delivery capacities in Carries and to offer our patients C-sections as they cannot afford to travel the 2-3 hours to the nearest hospital for services that they are not able to pay for.”

The new Clinic in a Can will supplement the existing clinic’s physical space and equipment, allowing its staff to see more patients and provide a higher level of care. We are glad to partner with GE and FHHH to help more patients around Haiti receive high-quality, accessible health care in their communities.