State of Healthcare in Haiti
2015: young adult male with small tumor below right ear, neck side.
Mother took young male to Port au Prince general hospital; doctors sent him for neck xray
After reviewing xray, doctors at general hospital, advised not to do a thing.
Mother went to young male pediatrician for second opinion, prominent pediatrician with a lucrative
practice in Port au Prince; HTG 1,000.00 consultation fee.
Pediatrician ordered xray from a prominent lab in Port au Prince, lab result is a small mass on the side
of neck below right ear. Upon reading radiologist xray analysis, pediatrician states, nothing to worry
about, it's just a mass, no need to do anything.
July, 2015, mother took young male to a prominent surgeon in Port au Prince, after analyzing xrays,
he advised surgery to remove tumor(s).
January, 2016: Young male operated by prominent surgeon who removed two tumors on right side of neck of young male and then sent samples to prominent lab for biopsy.
February, 2016: Biopsy result from prominent lab for 16 years old is low grade salivary gland cancer , family is devastated. There isn't any oncology center in Haiti with radio therapy, the required therapy for this type of cancer. Family is advised to go elsewhere for radio therapy i.e, Cuba, Dominican Republic or the
States. Meanwhile, young man is leaving a normal life, free of medical issues, but family is worried to death, expecting heir kid to expire at any time.
Through my research, I discovered University Hospital of Mireballais http://www.pih.org/pages/mirebalais ,(managed by Partners in health, Boston hospital and medical center), University hospital provides cancer care but they don't have radio therapy either http://www.pih.org/blog/cancer-care-expands-at-university-hospital
The hospital does provide referrals to the Dominican Republic for medical services they do not provide. They have a network of Haitian nurses, fluent in Spanish, working in the Dominican Republic, providing lodging, translation, going to hospitals and clinics with Haitian patients.
February, 2017: Young male and alarmed mother arrived in DR. They were received by one of the nurses who arranged for a room in an apartment they rented, took them to the children hospital for cancer treatment to begin the treatment process.https://www.facebook.com/hospitalinfantilarturogrullon/
Afer seeing him, the Dominican doc. ordered a new biopsy because the one from Haiti is a year old.
Within 3 weeks a NEGATIVE RESULT CAME BACK, sigh of relief. Here's the rub, doctors in Haiti are well aware of University Hospital of Mirebalais, however since it's free medical care, most see it as a competitor to their private practice; therefore it's hush. The Dominican surgeon said that it's common for Haitian patients to come to DR with bad lab results from Haiti's labs. Haitian patients have no recourse whatsoever for malpractice.
http://www.pih.org/blog/dr-ruth-damuses-story
