The Order’s ‘Sacre Coeur’ hospital in Milot, northern Haiti, has been working flat out since 12 January with a constant stream of wounded people arriving by helicopter or along the rough roads from the Port-au-Prince region. Assisted by their French colleagues, the doctors have treated dozens of survivors of the devastating earthquake which struck southern Haiti. Around 70 US volunteer doctors and nurses are working in the hospital, which is preparing to receive at least 100 patients (normally it offers 73 beds) as well as treating others and rehabilitating post-op patients.

‘The US Navy came to the hospital today to check availability and better coordinate efforts,’ asserts an update from the facility. At the moment this hospital is one of the busiest. This is not only because of its expanded facilities, numerous skilled volunteers and strong supportive local community but also because it has not been damaged by the quake and has a system in place for the rehabilitation of patients.

Around 50 discharged patients are housed in the ‘Vision of Hope’ mission, three miles from the hospital, where they will stay until they are able to return to the capital. This facility enables the ‘Sacre Coeur’ hospital to take in other serious cases, and especially those needing surgery.

The US doctors who have come to Haiti to work in the hospital tell of eleven days of enormous physical and emotional demands, working around the clock to perform operations and give medications. The school in front of the hospital, now renamed ‘Hotel Milot’, has been temporarily transformed, with the classrooms used as waiting rooms for examining the patients and checking the urgency of the interventions. ‘We are exhausted and emotionally drained,’ said Dr. Steve Fletcher.

The Hôpital Sacré Coeur is the largest private hospital in northern Haiti. Situated in the city of Milot, is has 73 beds and has been providing healthcare uninterruptedly for 23 years.