Celebrating One Year of CHIDA

It seems like just yesterday that we were so excited to share that the Community Hospital IDADEE (CHIDA) opened its doors. CHIDA has been open for a year now, and the leadership of Dr. Wislyn and the unwavering dedication of the hospital staff have made CHIDA’s first year incredible.

In its first year:

• 9,614 patients have visited CHIDA.

• 1,074 people have received care in the Emergency Room.

• 124 babies were born at CHIDA.

• The Community Health Program has grown to include 1,030 families. When a family joins the Community Health Program, a staff person visits twice a month to provide preventative care and deliver routine medication. Community Health Program workers currently care for 163 severely malnourished children.

Dr. Wislyn giving a tour of CHIDA

A Community Health Program meeting. The program has grown to include 1,030 families in one year.

2018 Players 4 Kids Gala

What a night! Together we reached our goal and raised over $200,000 for kids in Pittsburgh and Haiti! Thank you for your generous support, and special thanks to the team that made it happen!

View all of the photos from the night here or on our Facebook page.

Photos by Redford Photography

It's hard to concisely summarize everything that goes on in a year here, but we did our best. Take a look at the videos below and see for yourself. Our best is yet to come!

CHIDA Update

Dr. Wislyn and his wife, Suschana. Suschana is a nurse at CHIDA.

“Community Hospital IDADEE” (CHIDA) opened its doors to the local community back in November of 2017. We are happy to report that it continues to surpass all of our expectations regarding the positive difference it is making in the lives of the people in the community. The Community Health Clinic is seeing an average of sixty-eight patients per day, and we expect this number to grow as word spreads about the quality, affordable, health care that CHIDA is providing.

We now have a team of forty trained professional community health workers that are delivering door-to-door services in the local community. This community health program is so beneficial because health workers can provide preventative care, rather than acute care. Community health workers visit patients at home, perform checkups, and make sure patients are taking their medications before more serious issues arise.

When emergency care is required, patients visit the emergency room at CHIDA. The emergency room facility was initially designed to hold 10-12 beds, but it has been so busy recently that the CHIDA staff has had to create an overflow room to add beds for more patients. In a typical night at the ER, the staff treats seventeen patients.

One of the unique aspects of CHIDA is that one of the four doctors is always physically present at the hospital; this is highly unusual for a facility this size in Haiti. One area of great need that immediately became visible is OBGYN care. It is not uncommon to have multiple deliveries at CHIDA on a given night. Plans to build a delivery room and larger operating room are already in the works. Patients pay a nominal $5 for care at CHIDA, but the staff doesn't turn anyone away if they cannot afford to pay. To date, only 22% of patients have been able to afford the $5 fee. Your financial support of our mission in Haiti continues to be crucial and very appreciated!