C2C is truly excited to introduce our new clinic staff in Camp Coq!  Each lives in the community they are now serving, and they are thrilled to be part of C2C’s new clinic – working to make health care more accessible in Northern Haiti.

After a competitive recruitment process, these individuals were chosen to lead service delivery at the C2C Camp Coq clinic. Dr. Francois Lukenson, a general physician, and Ms. Herlande Duvot, a nurse, will provide consultation and care to our patients. Mr. Fusley Laguerre is an experienced laboratory technician, who will manage all of the diagnostic services at the clinic.  Ms. Jocelyne Joseph, an auxiliary nurse, will greet patients, check them in and take medical histories, and manage patient flow.

All four individuals have impressive resumés and bring significant experience to their new positions.

Dr. Lukenson has served patients in Northern Haiti for more than a decade. He previously worked for Médecins Sans Frontières, Caritas, and Hôpital St. Jean, and has traveled to Montreal twice for trainings in mental health and family medicine.  His passion is community health, and he has experience managing HIV/AIDS, TB and cholera treatment programs. Dr. Francois hails from the northern community of Pilate and completed his social service at Saint Louis du Nord. He completed his medical training in the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy at Université D’Etat D’Haïti.

Ms. Duvot is a qualified nurse who completed her Bachelor of Nursing degree at the School of Nursing, Our Lady of Wisdom (EINDS), in Cap-Haitien, Haiti in 2010. She has completed post-graduate training in many topics, including HIV/AIDS, diabetes care, infectious disease, and blood transfusion safety. Nurse Herlande has worked at a number of hospitals and clinics across the northern region since 2007 and has gained notable skills in managing malnutrition programs, caring for people with cholera, and in health education and hygiene promotion.

Mr. Laguerre is a licensed lab technician with extensive technical and management experience in diagnostics. Since 2007, he has been employed at l’Hôpital Espérance de Pilate, most recently as the head of laboratory. He completed his social service in 2006 at Hôpital de la Grande Rivière du Nord. Mr. Laguerre completed his education in 2005 and obtained a degree from École Nationale de Technologie Médicale du Cap-Haitien. As a trainee at a national PEPFAR site, Mr. Laguerre received extensive training through the Haitian Ministry of Health, the Clinton Foundation, and Catholic Relief Services.

Ms. Joseph has worked as an auxiliary nurse since she completed her initial training at École Bethesda de Fort Liberté in 2003. She has worked in Camp Coq before, and is from Northern Haiti.  She enjoys talking with patients and learning about their health histories, and is looking forward to being part of the clinic team – working together to achieve a goal.

C2C is already so impressed with these staff members in action, and is eager to share more of their stories with you in the future.

Please meet Joice. She has lived in Camp Coq for most of her 68 years, surrounded by family members – of which she says she has “a lot and then some!”
She is thrilled the clinic opened near her home, as she used to have to hire a motorcycle taxi to take her to the nearest medical facility in Limbé.
She said, “I’m not scared to take the motos, but I’m very happy I can see a doctor now without the ride.”

More than 200 people joined us for the new clinic’s Opening Day Ceremony! Many, many more photos to come. An enormous thank you to all who supported this amazing effort – and to those who joined us today! We can’t wait to share more news from Camp Coq!

C2C is delighted to announce that Loudrige Declasse, Louinise Odysse (pictured above, right, with Haiti Country Director, Dr. Jean-Eric Calvaire), and Jorane Pierre (pictured above, left)  have been hired to serve as Community Health Workers (CHWs) based out of the Camp Coq clinic.  These women were selected from a pool of more than 30 local applicants who attended two application sessions (pictured below).

Loudrige, Jorane, and Louinise will provide a variety of important services to the community, including door-to-door outreach, general health and hygiene education, nutrition and breastfeeding counseling, in-home follow-up visits, and education sessions in the clinic and the community.  They will also serve as links between the clinical staff and the community.  We look forward to sharing stories with you in the future; in the meantime, we would like to introduce them!

Loudrige Declasse is C2C’s youngest CHW.  She lost her mother in her last year of high school, and had to drop out to support herself.  She became a substitute teacher for younger children, and used savings from that job to start her own small business selling cosmetics at Camp Coq’s weekly market.  She says, “People in Camp Coq are unhealthy because they have no one to teach them to be better.  As a CHW, I can share what I learn and help people take responsibility for their health.”

Louinise Odysse is in her late 30s, and lives in Camp Coq with her 10-year-old son.  She began training as a nurse years ago, and credits Florence Nightingale as her inspiration.  Her favorite part about her new job is that she will be able to help people make better health decisions through education.  She says, “People don’t have the information they need to stay healthy.  When cholera came to the country, they didn’t know they needed to be careful of their water and food to stay well.  CHWs can help.”

Jorane Pierre is in her mid-thirties.  She always wanted to be a nurse, but could not afford the training when her father died.  She has worked in health care before, volunteering with the Ministry of Health during immunization campaigns, and loves to help people keep their children healthy.  She and her husband live in Camp Coq with their two little girls, and she says, “CHWs will take responsibility to help community members address health issues together.  The biggest health problem in Camp Coq is that we have not had a facility, and now we are changing that.”

Clinic containers are in place in Camp Coq and Community Health Workers are on-staff! Next steps – hiring clinical staff, unpacking, opening to serve the community…

What does it take to open a primary care clinic in Haiti?  Join us as we work to open our newest clinic – from fabrication to opening day and beyond, follow what happens on our blog.  We hope you will ask questions and offer suggestions and support along the way.

Let’s start with where we’ve been:

Clinic Fabrication

Our fabricator in Miami started with an empty shipping container.  He added high windows for ventilation that preserves privacy; then he added flooring, shelves, cabinetry, and doors until the interior looked just like any other doctor’s office.  Medical equipment, including examination tables, lab equipment, and other necessary items, was packed inside the clinic.  This entire process takes up to 6 weeks.

Site Research/Decision

C2C spent many months researching potential clinic locations in Haiti, suggested by the Ministry of Health and other nonprofit organizations.  C2C chose Camp Coq because there was need, a population large enough to support a clinic, and community support for a clinic.  C2C conducted in-depth community research – focus groups, door-to-door surveys, community leadership interviews – early in 2013 before finalizing the site.

Now where we are:

Shipping and Site Preparation

From our fabricator’s site in Miami, the clinic will soon travel more than 600 miles to its new home – Camp Coq, Haiti.  Workers are preparing the site for the clinic, placing concrete footings to hold it in place, and leveling the grounds.

Community Steering Committee

A steering committee is in place, comprised of 11 Camp Coq community leaders, to guide C2C’s entry into the community and serve as ambassadors for the organization to their neighbors and friends.

• And finally, where we’re going in the next few weeks – we hope you will check back often for news! Health Education Staff Hiring

Clinic Staff Hiring

Staff Training and Orientation

Community Outreach

Clinic Opening