In August I was able to safely travel in and out of Cite Soleil, Haiti. I was supposed to take this trip in June but the trip was delayed due to increased gang violence and a pending military invasion. I wasn’t sure how the trip would be due to the change in the military invasion, since their arrival they have been able to reopen and ensure the safety of the airport, the gas terminal and the port. They were making frequent traffic stops to ensure the safety of the area. This was one of the safest trips I have been able to make.

In clinic we routinely treated adults with UTI, STD, URI, pneumonia. My pediatric skills are essential in this area. I was able to assess and treat pneumonia, diarrhea, cholera, typhoid, dehydration, continued severe malnutrition, worms. I found a child that had sutures in his eyebrow, he was trying to convince me that they wound dissolve and didn’t need to be removed. I sat him on my lap while I treated other children, once he was comfortable with me he allowed me to remove his stitches. I met a man with active syphilis, I was able to work with our telehealth team and come up with a treatment plan for him. I am currently working on getting HIV testing for him but he is having a hard time committing to traveling due to the patient is an escaped prisoner and scared he will be arrested.

I participated in the daily medika mamba feeding of 82 children under the age of 5 that meet the World Health Organization criteria for severely malnourished children and completed assessments. I also participated in 100 feeding activity, Way to Health feeds 100 school age children once every other week. These children are building community with each other, some attend school together or have been in other Way to Health programs and attend free English classes twice a week.

We are currently working to follow up on 6 children, arranging HIV and sickle cell testing and treatment. They will need to travel outside the city approximately 40 minutes in order to be seen and treated. I am currently working to find sponsors for children to be able to attend school currently 25 sponsored working on getting 10 more sponsored.

Thank you for assisting with this life saving mission.

Please let me know if you need anything else.
Teah Bland BSN, RN, CEN, TCRN