I believe the children are our future…Yes, from the Whitney Houston song and also our lesson after a year of executing the C2C Continuous Care Initiative (CCI). In 2018, the health of over 400 men, women and children in our Partner Community was greatly improved due to the monthly doctor’s visit via our Continuous Care Initiative. This was made possible by the monthly donations of our C2C Neighbors.
When C2C launched the Continuous Care Initiative (CCI) with our Mountainside Partner Community in November 2017, it was the first time they received quality healthcare in the seven years we have been working with them. Our goal, after launching the CCI, was to work with the community to provide:
- Health Committee (community health workers) available daily
- Nurse available weekly
- Doctor available monthly
- Medical Team Visit twice a year
- Monthly call with C2C Pilot Project Team/C2C Haïti/Community Doctor
After serving over 200 men, women, children and elderly with health care during the launch, which included seeing an eye doctor and dentist, their thirst for better and continuous health care was evident.
All of the above personnel, except for our visit, would come from within the community. The format above has to be modified and continues to evolve since the launch, but the goal of a healthy community on its way to self-sufficiency, remains the same. The data from the health assessment surveys, patient charts, meetings with our partners, project manager and Peasant Association on the ground serves two purposes: to learn more about the community we serve and tailor the Continuous Care Initiative to their specific needs. After serving over 200 men, women, children and elderly with health care during the launch, which included seeing an eye doctor and dentist, their thirst for better and continuous health care was evident. Out of our debrief in January 2018, we knew we would need 8 things:
- Doctors
- Nurses
- Medicine
- Supplies
- Equipment
- Location
- Funding
- Partners
With our current budget via donations from our C2C Neighbors, we secured the first 6 and started with 1 doctor, 1 nurse and 1 health committee member in May while we continued to pursue additional funding and partners.
A year later:
- Over 400 people have received continuous, health care
- We see a decrease in high blood pressure, hypertension, malaria and typhoid
- The health committee, which includes 3 nurses, 3 midwives and generalists, received training in CPR and First Aid
- Almost 100 women received cervical cancer screening from our partnership with FAMH (Foundation for the Advancement of Haitian Midwives)
- The initiative is more prepared in terms of medications and medical supplies
- Simpler Registration – patients had all their previous charts attached and consistency in numbers/card system in place
- We are clear that the focus needs to be more on children and preventative care
After the December 2018 Partner Community Visit (PCV), we met with the community and agreed that the dental health of the community, especially for the children, will be our focus in 2019. We believe focusing more on the younger generations will help break the cycle of poor health.
