Project Haiti

Project Haiti consists of a group of Health Science Center medical students and faculty advisors who have partnered with Project Medishare, an organization based in Thomonde, Haiti. Project Medishare's mission is to provide sustainable healthcare for all people living in Haiti's Central Plateau. Modeled after Partners in Health in Cange, Haiti, Project Medishare seeks to employ community health workers, supervise mobile medical clinics, and provide training sessions for Haitian healthcare professionals. There are a wide variety of projects under the Project Medishare banner, including specialty surgical teams and the construction of a nutrition center aimed at fighting malnutrition in the area.

Our School of Medicine is one of several medical schools in the United States that have formed partnerships with Project Medishare over the last few years to run mobile medical clinics in some of the more rural communities around Thomonde. With the help of these partnerships, Medishare is able complement the efforts of their full-time staff of doctors, nurses, and health workers to ensure that each community has access to a physician at least every 3 months. Follow-up care is mediated by community health workers and referrals to the Ministry of Health hospitals, managed by Medishare and PIH. Such a partnership also allows the students of our medical school a truly unique opportunity for service-based learning that incorporates many other aspects of public health in a sustainable way.

Project Haiti: Post-Earthquake

The Health Science Center's first medical partnership trip to Haiti occurred in December 2008. Our second group of students and faculty returned safely in January 2010 - just 48 hours before the devastating earthquakes struck. Following the 7.0 magnitude earthquakes, Project Haiti reached out to connect with additional Haitian organizations to continue to provide medical care and relief aide. Project Medishare became occupied by earthquake relief efforts in and around Port-au-Prince, so students and faculty sought to develop a relationship with the International Medical Alliance of Tennessee (IMA), an organization that provides sustainable medical care for several of Haiti's impoverished border towns, called "bateys." In March 2010, a team of nine medical students and several physicians worked with IMA to provide primary care (Internal Medicine, OB/GYN, Pediatrics and Triage) to over 1000 patients. They traveled hours across rugged terrain, amidst donkeys and travelers on foot, to reach some of the most neglected communities along the border of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. A student remarked, "In this process, we learned of the simple joy and abundant hospitality of the people we came to serve. We were inspired by our time and filled with passion to continue to learn and to serve these communities."

Our Commitment

Project Haiti has committed to send two teams to Haiti each year while advocating for the people of Haiti through the work of Project Medishare and the International Medical Alliance. Members of Project Haiti brainstorm new public health projects throughout the school year to incorporate into trips. In addition to raising money for future medical trips, the group is currently fundraising in support of tuition sponsorships for orphans at the Renmen orphanage in northern Port-au-Prince. Students and faculty involved in Project Haiti are also working to develop a service-learning relationship with students at Saint Vincent's School for the Handicapped in downtown Port-au-Prince.