PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti,
Jan. 24, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
-- A coalition of organizations including the United States Agency
for International Development (USAID), the W.K. Kellogg Foundation
and the GE Foundation announced a public/private partnership
benefiting the Saint Boniface Haiti Foundation (SBHF) last week
during a ceremony at the US Embassy in Port-au-Prince. The partnership provides
financial, in-kind and technical support for the Reparation Pou
Amelyore Ekipman Medikal (REPARE) program, enabling the Saint
Boniface Haiti Foundation to create a regional model for biomedical
equipment management in Haiti.
Under the REPARE project, a training program is in place for
biomedical technicians at St. Boniface Hospital and the University
Teaching Hospital of Mirebalais, which will be used as a replicable
model for expanding training opportunities to additional facilities
in Haiti. The program is aimed
toward enhancing the availability and skills of local biomedical
technicians in Haiti, increasing
the ability to provide high quality care in Haiti's hospitals.
"The REPARE program will revolutionize the standard of care in
Haiti," said CEO and President of
SBHF, Conor Shapiro. "There are
closets full of broken medical equipment throughout the country,
and this project will ensure that this equipment can be repaired
and maintained by local technicians and put back to work caring for
patients. It will ensure the ability to diagnose illnesses and
provide care." Mr. Shapiro emphasized the importance of biomedical
training. "This program will truly save lives," he says.
Partners agree: "REPARE convenes the expertise and financial
support of important actors in Haiti's healthcare system to ensure Haitians
of all incomes receive the benefits of life-saving biomedical
equipment," said United States
Ambassador to Haiti Peter Mulrean. "The main objective is to create
an efficient maintenance and repair system in Haiti that is self-sustaining through fees for
services provided by an expanded pool of certified Haitian
technicians."
"To achieve sustainable health delivery in
Haiti, biomedical training and overall skills building are
essential," said David Barash, Chief
Medical Officer at the GE Foundation. "We are proud to partner with
SBHF as a leader and gold standard for enabling access to
healthcare and driving system strengthening in remote underserved
regions."
"St. Boniface's revolutionary approach to repairing medical
devices is setting a new standard of surgical care and redefining
health care delivery and education in and around Fond-des-Blancs,"
said Joe Scantlebury, vice president for
program strategy at the Kellogg Foundation. "This program
furthers St. Boniface's vision to improve quality and access to
affordable health care and improve infant and maternal
care."
The proliferation of non-functioning and poorly maintained
medical equipment has devastating consequences for patients seeking
life-saving health services throughout Haiti. Much of the country's health clinics
and hospitals depend on donated or used machinery, and the cost of
maintenance through reliance on foreign engineers is not
sustainable. REPARE combats these issues, while also creating jobs
and bolstering the local economy.
The Saint Boniface Haiti Foundation has been working in southern
Haiti for nearly three decades, in
response to the need for a comprehensive healthcare organization on
the Southern Peninsula. Since its founding, the organization has
expanded into a hospital in Fond-des-Blancs, a clinic in Villa, and
multiple community health programs and mobile clinics. As a whole,
SBHF provides care for nearly 100,000 patients per year, and serves
on the frontlines of the country's health and disaster relief
needs.
About the Saint Boniface Haiti Foundation
Founded
in 1983, the St. Boniface Haiti Foundation (SBHF) provides
essential health services to some of the poorest and most
vulnerable populations in southern Haiti. SBHF's model of healthcare delivery
includes clinical and community-based care that works
collaboratively to bring healthcare access to a large and dispersed
population.
SBHF's main facility, St. Boniface Hospital, is located in
Fond-des-Blancs and is the largest regional hospital on
Haiti's southern peninsula. It is
accredited by the Haitian Ministry of Health and is one of the only
providers of specialized services, including surgical care, to a
broader region of over two million people, many of whom live on
less than $1 per day.
SBHF is a U.S.-based 501c3 organization that also has
nonprofit status in Haiti. The
office in Newton, Massachusetts
supports approximately 275 staff in Haiti, 98% of whom are Haitian.
For more information visit haitihealth.org or call us at
617-244-9800.
About the W.K. Kellogg Foundation:
The W.K.
Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), founded in 1930 as an independent,
private foundation by breakfast cereal pioneer, Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest
philanthropic foundations in the United
States. Guided by the belief that all children should have
an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works with communities to
create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their
full potential in school, work and life.
The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Michigan, and works throughout
the United States and
internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes. Special emphasis
is paid to priority places where there are high concentrations of
poverty and where children face significant barriers to success.
WKKF priority places in the U.S. are in Michigan, Mississippi, New
Mexico and New Orleans; and
internationally, are in Mexico and
Haiti. For more information, visit
www.wkkf.org.
About the GE Foundation:
The GE
Foundation, the philanthropic organization of GE (NYSE:
GE), is committed to building a world that works better. We empower
people by helping them build the skills they need to succeed in a
global economy. We equip communities with the technology and
capacity to improve access to better health and education. We
elevate ideas that are tackling the world's toughest challenges to
advance economic development and improve lives. The GE Foundation
is powered by the generosity and talent of our employees, who have
a strong commitment to their communities. We are at work making the
world work better. Follow the GE Foundation
at www.gefoundation.com and on Twitter
at @GE_Foundation.
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SOURCE W.K. Kellogg Foundation