Each year, IAM facilitates medical and surgical trips near Ferrier, Haiti. The primary purpose of these trips is to provide rural villages in Haiti with medical care while educating Haitians on subjects such as hypertension, diabetes, and nutrition.
These trips give us the opportunity to not only provide dependable healthcare but to also help cultivate an environment of education which will help to facilitate the growth of Haitian doctors and nurses.
Due to the lack of government funded hospitals and available healthcare, our solution has been to take these clinics to the people. IAM is able to treat between 1,300 and 1,500 patients annually through our medical trips.
Our doctors treat a large range of medical problems including malnourishment, skin conditions, hypertension, dehydration and diabetes. On surgical trips, IAM performs more than 50 surgical procedures in 4 days. Some of the procedures we are able to perform include hernia repairs, circumcisions, mastectomies, removal of soft tissue masses, oophorectomies, hemorrhoid surgery, vasectomies and occasional emergency cesarean section.
Both medical and non-medical personnel are needed for missions. If you are a physician, surgeon, resident, CRNA, Nurse, PA, NP, Scrub Tech or a Surgical First Assistant who has a desire to serve and heart for giving, we would love to have you on an upcoming trip.
THROUGH OUR MEDICAL TRIPS,
an average of 1,300 to 1,500 patients are treated annually.
While on our trips, Our teams always spend time with the girls in the orphanage where we stay, as well as the ones at the nearby children’s village. During our time there we throw the kids a large birthday party complete with music, food, goodies, clothes and surprises. It’s always fun to watch the joy and excitement on the their faces but spending time with them is what truly fills our hearts.
We are always taking donations for the kids. If you would like to donate clothes, toys or kids supplies feel free to email us at info@iamhaiti.org and we will be happy to help set this up!
A new initiative for 2020, IAM is proud to work with Nicole Gray, RDH, on helping to expand dental services to communities in Haiti. Having begun her missions trips to Haiti in 2013, over the years Nicole has seen her share of cavities and tooth decay in children, as well as rampant tooth decay and advanced periodontal disease in adults.
IAM is excited to work with Nicole one-on-one in helping to build a team of dentists, dental hygienists and dental assistants to serve in the coming years. Based on previous missions trips Nicole has spear-headed on her own, it is estimated that a team of 4-6 dental professionals could improve the dental needs of 235 children per trip, in turn helping to prevent more severe issues when they reach adulthood.
Are you a dental professional (dentist, dental hygienist, or dental assistant) and interested in our dental program? Send us your information below!
This year our medical team was able to treat around 1,500 patients! Our team also made a trip to Guilbert to treat 92 of our blood pressure patients before flying to Cap Haitian to see another 79 of them. They were hosted at the girls orphange in Ferrier, Haiti. This is always a meaningful experience as the girls in the orphanage love getting to spend time with our teams. They were able to work out of the church building again this year. We had several new faces along for this trip and we were so thankful for them and the care, compassion and knowledge they brought with them.
Our surgical team had a completely new look this year. The previous hospital we worked out of in Cap-Haitien was not available to us so new plans were made and boy did they live up to the hype. Our team stayed at Deep River Mission located just outside of Cap-Haitien and were able to operate at Baptist convention hospital. Both of these organizations provided not only wonderful accommodations but also well run and amazing operating rooms. The team was able to complete 52 surgeries while there. We are so thankful for these organizations and their willingness to work with us. Please be sure to check out their websites and the amazing work they do!
Before our team left, they were also able to go by our property and take a look at all the work being done there! The wall that will outline a section of our property is the in the process of being built and it looking fantastic thanks to the amazing skills of the local Haitians who are working on it. We can not wait to have a permanent facility of our own to operate out of! If you want more information about our hospital project head over the our page here.
Prior to the ramp up of COVID-19, we sent a team of 4 to Haiti to help treat all of our blood pressure patients. They were able fly into Port-au-Prince and from there they traveled to Guilbert and Ferrier. They were able to treat around 150 blood pressure patients. These trips are so important to us and controlling blood pressure is something that is so easily cared for here in the US and so difficult to treat in Haiti due to lack of medication. We also have a Haitian doctor named Dr Magalie Surling who continues to see and treat all of these patients through out the year. While our team was in Haiti they also took time to stop by our property and the future site of our IAM haiti hospital to spread the ashes of Jen. G. Wilson. Jen’s sister Jodie was one of the 4 members of this trip and we know this was a very meaningful experience for her as well. We miss Jen everyday and and so thankful or the memory and legacy they she left with us.
This year’s medical trip to Ferrier, Haiti was able to provide care to over 1,200 patients! Our medical team operated out of the church building. This open window building was converted from a beautiful place of worship into our medical building for the week. Tables and chairs are moved and rearranged to create exam rooms, pharmacies and lab areas. Our team treats nearly every patient that walks through the doors of the building. They help see everything from blood pressure, diabetes to malnutrition and prenatal care. The on going list of what they treat is honestly never ending and always impressive.
Our surgical team arrived in Ferrier the week after our medical team and was able to successful complete 50 surgeries in 4 days. They were able to work out of a local hospital in Cap-Haitien. The building provided our team with 2 operating rooms and a PreOP and PACU area. During our second day there our building lost power but thanks to the incredible handy work and quick thinking of some our friends we were able to continue on with surgery using generators to run our operating rooms. Our team treated everything from breast cancer and hernias to circumcisions and other minor surgical cases. Both teams were able to provide the best care for some of the most amazing people!
This year’s medical trip was in Ferrier, Haiti, where the team saw over 1,000 patients! In anticipation of the permanent medical clinic we are working to open in Ferrier, our medical teams began treating these patients in order to start giving and teaching the kind of care we’re excited to introduce to the area. Guibert, another city in Haiti where IAM has a presence, has a high level of health and overall nutrition and wellness, as we’ve been working with the community for nearly 20 years. Our work in Ferrier will hopefully lead to higher percentage of overall health as we’re able to continue our treatment in the coming years.
This year’s surgical trip to Ferrier, Haiti was an incredibe success! The team performed nearly 60 surgeries for adults and children alike – more than ever before. What’s more, Dr. Betsy Washburn, a breast surgeon and oncologist, attended with the group and saw to multiple high priority breast cases.
Our team was able to evaluate and treat close to 1000 patients during our week. We ran clinics in both Gilbert and Drouin. We also ran blood pressure clinics in both locations, and were able to add about 25 new patients at each location. During the week we evaluated many patients with generalized illnesses, with many skin and systemic infections identified and treated. Several patients with previously undiagnosed cancers were discovered, and we were able to arrange appropriate follow up for these patients. We also had the opportunity to work with Magnelie, our Haitian physician, again this year. She is truly a blessing to our group, and is working more seamlessly with our team. She is a great ambassador for the Haitian people, and is an inspiration to those of us who only make our periodic trips to Haiti. The team worked great together, with everyone helping out wherever help was needed. This made for another successful trip this year.
IAM’s first urology specific surgical trip was a success. Thanks to the services of Georgia Urologist, David Banks, we were able to treat 12 patients with chronic urinary retention due to enlarged prostates, relieve symptoms of a man with advanced prostate cancer and cure a young man with a urological complication. All patients are reportedly doing well and are on their way to a life-changing recovery. We give all the praise to God for orchestrating a team of such amazing, hard-working individuals, and we look forward to working with the urology team again on future surgical trips. We are already planning the next urology trip for the 2018.
