2016 is off to a busy start for C2C.  In the past two months, our patient volume has increased by 89% across our two clinic sites in Northern Haiti!  In March alone we served over 1,000 patients with clinical services, including primary care, specialty antenatal care, and community-based health screenings.

The C2C clinic model partners directly with communities and we nurture and respect the feedback loop that we have with our patients. This year, we heard our patients speaking loud and clear: expanded services and more affordability. We’ve provided exactly that and the results have been very exciting!

Offering free maternal health care to pregnant women was very important to the families of Camp Coq and Acul du Nord and so we expanded our services to meet that need— helping to ensure that expectant mothers have comprehensive care during pregnancy, access to safe birthing support, and post-natal and infant care.

We’re on track to serve 10,000 patients in 2016— and to double that number in 2017. Stay tuned to our blog to learn more about new programs to expand family planning coverage, childhood vaccinations, and to ensure that school-age child are healthy and thriving!

March 8^th marked International Women’s Day, a time to bring attention to the global fight for women’s rights and gender equality. This year, in recognition of this important day, we hosted a special program at our Camp Coq, Haiti clinic. Our clinicians provided 100 women from the surrounding communities with free HIV and PAP testing.

Partnering with Borgnes Hospital, our clinical staff spent the day providing these two crucial tests to women of all ages. Both cancer and HIV/AIDS remain among the top ten causes of premature death in Haiti. While these tests can be lifesaving, paying for them can be a struggle for many women in the farming communities of the north.

At C2C we seek to provide the best primary care for women and their families. In 2015, 68% of patients at our clinics in Northern Haiti were female. They receive quality care from our clinic staff, which is 83% female itself.

C2C truly believes that healthy women are vital to healthy families and communities lipitor generic. Through our primary care, our community health screenings, and our free maternal health program, we strive to serve as many women in the communities of Northern Haiti as possible!

Over the past couple weeks the mosquito-borne virus known as Zika has become a hot topic, not only in the health world, but in the global media as well. In response to an outbreak of cases across the Americas, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Zika a global public health emergency. With all the concern surrounding this outbreak, we wanted to share some information about the virus, as well as what Care 2 Communities is doing in response in Haiti.

Zika is spread by mosquitos and, for most who contract the virus, symptoms are usually mild to moderate and can include fever, headache, and muscle and joint pain. There is no vaccine, and no cure, however, eighty percent of people that become infected show no symptoms, and those that do are usually better within a week.

The major concern lies in a possible connection between the Zika virus in pregnant women and microcephaly in newborns. While this connection has yet to be definitively proven, the possibility is strong, and pregnant women in countries with the virus must take extra precautions.

The first cases of Zika were confirmed in Haiti in January and the Haitian Ministry of Health is in the process of developing a coordinated national response view it. While C2C has yet to treat any patients presenting with the virus, we work in close partnership with the Ministry of Health and will adopt national protocols when they are established.

In the meantime, we are committed to helping to protect all pregnant women that are enrolled in C2C’s antenatal care program, over 600 women and growing, by distributing insect repellent and education about the dangers of standing pools of water as mosquito breeding grounds.   Additionally, Zika prevention awareness meetings will be incorporated into the weekly Community Health program. C2C’s focus is on promoting messages of prevention to vulnerable people and ensuring that pregnant patients are as protected as possible.

At our newest clinic in Acul du Nord, Haiti, which opened in May, our staff reach out constantly to increase community awareness of our quality and services. C2C uses tried and true marketing methods – radio ads, community/church announcements, and word of mouth – and has also taken advantage of a medium that is more unique to Haiti – mobile DJs.

Recently, our Haitian team members joined four loyal C2C patients at a community radio station in Acul du Nord. They discussed and recorded patients’ reasons for selecting C2C as their primary care provider. The recordings will be used in three new radio commercials that will air throughout the area. These ads will be aired on the radio, as well as through mobile DJs. These mobile DJs drive cars or trucks with loud sound systems through communities. They air commercials and announcements for residents who might not have access to radios.

Claudia, a patient who has visited the Acul du Nord clinic a number of times since it opened in May, will be featured in the new commercial. She said, “The reason I like C2C better than other clinics is because when I go to C2C, I know I will get results, which is not necessarily true at other places. Before my consultation at the C2C clinic I had several illnesses. After the consultation, all of them were cured.”

C2C has previously had great success with these types of public announcement ads; however, we are looking forward to featuring patient voices for the first time!

Evens Simeon joined the C2C team in August, as our new Senior Project Manager in Haiti.  He brings with him many years of NGO experience in Haiti, including working with the World Food Programme and the United Nations.  Here, he shares his background as well as his hopes for C2C’s future.

Joining C2C is a great thing for me for several reasons. I like the idea of sustainability behind the model, and also feel the work we are doing is critical. As Senior Program Manager, I will put all my energy and expertise into the success of this project. I believe my country really needs organizations like this. I have shared a bit of my background below.

I attended the Universite Notre Dame d’Haiti where I studied Administrative Sciences (Management) for 4 years. Soon after completing this degree I started working in the Marketing field for Sogecarte, a subsidiary of Sogebank, a well-known institution in Haiti. After two years there I was hired by United Nations for Project Services, in their Communication Center project. I spent almost 7 years working as the National Communication Center Supervisor. Following the completion of that project in February 2013, I joined the World Food Programme (WFP) in Haiti as Senior Communication Center Supervisor.

After the WFP project concluded, a friend invited me to take part in a social project that he was planning, Entreprise Social Priorité Education Developpement. The goal of the project was to offer financial assistance to poor people who desired to study, and to make a library and a cyber-center available. I liked the idea of helping Haitians help themselves, and that led me to C2C.

It’s important to C2C to partner with local companies and organizations on the ground.  We recently did just that in partnering with Digo Distribution, a social business in Haiti that produces bulk liquid cleaning products: disinfectant cleaner, detergent, and bleach.  These products are crucial for Haitian families, especially during the rainy reason.

Digo Distribution is a Haitian-owned business that started as a commercial enterprise. Recently, motivated by a social mission, Digo wanted to reach more low-income people with their products. Yunus Social Business invested in the growth of Digo’s social arm, and partners like C2C bring the products to low-income customers.

By packaging the cleaning agents in bulk drums, customers can bring their own bottles or containers to “fill up” at the Digo station at the C2C clinic! This saves them the cost of purchasing a new product container each time — often a prohibitively expensive prospect for a poor family.

C2C is excited to offer these important products to our patients and to be working with an innovative Haitian-owned social business!

Care 2 Communities is excited to announce that our newest clinic is scheduled to open May 4, 2015! The clinic, equipped with an exam room, laboratory, and pharmacy, will be located in Acul du Nord in Northern Haiti, serving a community of 50,000 residents.

Months of preparation have gone into this opening. Since January, our team in Haiti has accomplished a great deal:

• 528 household surveys, 4 focus groups, and 18 key stakeholder interviews have been completed, illuminating health care needs in Acul du Nord, as well as service and pricing expectations.
• 1 site has been secured, through C2C’s partnership with the Mayor’s office in Acul du Nord and the Ministry of Health in Haiti’s Northern Department.
• 2 Shipping Containers (containing exam spaces as well as room and equipment for a full laboratory and pharmacy) have been rehabbed and moved from our previous location in Port-au-Prince (where they are no longer necessary) to the prepared site in Acul du Nord.
• 12 Local Advisory Committee members have been recruited and are currently advising C2C on service mix, opening events, pricing, and more.
• 2 Community Health Workers have been hired and trained, and are currently visiting at least 15 households every day to share health and clinic information with families in Acul du Nord and the surrounding area.
• 1 doctor, 2 nurses, and 1 lab technician, have been hired in Acul du Nord, and can’t wait to begin training and work on April 20th!
• 1 well is being drilled to supply the clinic with clean, fresh water.

This clinic would not have been possible without the generous support of a number of alumni from the College of the Holy Cross and the Emerging Markets Trade Association, to whom we are truly grateful!

Check back later in the month for more updates on the Acul du Nord clinic, and feedback from opening day!