Predicted thunderstorms never materialized Saturday morning, to the delight of participants in the fourth annual Haiti Clinic 5K Run/Walk at South Beach Park. The fundraiser will help the organization to continue assisting residents of the poverty-stricken island nation with its healthcare needs.
Haiti Clinic was founded by Vero Beach physician Dr. Dirk Parvus, who soon enlisted the help of other medical professionals, including Dr. Neil Heskel, who underwrote the cost of the 5K.
“We’re going into our 10th year,” said Heskel. “It’s amazing; we’ve seen over 10,000 patients last year. We’ve gone from an occasional week where we carried suitcases of supplies over, to now having two clinics. Instead of episodic care we’re doing continuous care. It’s getting better every year and it’s because of our support here. All the money we raise will go to help patients in Haiti.”
“We provide primary and preventive healthcare and dental care,” explained Haiti Clinic Executive Director Jennifer Tossie, one of only two U.S.-based employees. “Our clinics are Haitian run; the staff there is all Haitian.”
Haitian-born Medical Director Dr. Kobel Dubique, who earned a masters in medicine from Harvard University Medical School, leads the teams of doctors and dentists who provide care to patients at clinics in two critically underserved areas – the slums of Cité Solei and the rural mountainous town of Baocia.
There are also 30 volunteer Community Health Agents from various rural and remote villages, whom they have trained in such areas as basic first aid, the signs and symptoms of hypertension, and how to accurately take blood pressures, screening for malnutrition and recording children’s weight and height.
Clinic staff also provides educational classes on personal hygiene, nutrition and well-baby care. Another life-threatening concern is preventing and treating the intestinal worms which cause serious malnutrition in children. Their de-worming program provided more than 19,000 doses of Albendazole. In addition to tooth extractions, fillings and children’s fluoride treatments, each patient is given a toothbrush and instruction on proper dental care.
“We provide volunteers to go over and assist with the medical needs and training,” said Tossie. “And if there’s ever any specialists needed, we try to recruit specialists or we have the means to do telemedicine, to have a teleconference with a specialist.”
In an attempt to assist as many people as possible, Haiti Clinic also supports 11 other health clinics, schools and orphanages with supplies and medications.
“We’re always looking for volunteers to go to Haiti and also to do projects in the states,” Tossie added. She said volunteers can even work remotely from home, helping with social media, getting donations or finding specialists for teleconference services. Other volunteers have formed packing groups with friends and churches to collect and send kits of needed items to Haiti.
For more information, visit haiticlinic.org.