Haiti: Red Cross medics deliver care in isolated villages hit by Hurricane Matthew

Canadian Red Cross Doctor Jason Creaghan speaks to a patient at a mobile clinic in the community of Moline. Nicole Robicheau/IFRC

By France Hurtubise

It is early morning in Moline, an isolated village in the mountains of southwestern Haiti, and people wait in line to be treated at the Red Cross mobile clinic.

“Our aim is to reach people affected by the hurricane who do not presently have access to health care,” explains Jason Creaghan, a Canadian Red Cross doctor who is working with the clinic. “We are targeting remote villages that lack health services and have been cut-off from other areas where health services are available.”

Young patient having her temperature and breathing checked by Red Cross doctor at a mobile clinic in the town of Moline. Nicole Robicheau/IFRC

On this day, the clinic treats a total of 167 persons in Moline, a village outside Beaumont, for mostly minor pathologies such as pneumonia, muscular lesions and infected wounds.

“Patients are showing obvious signs of stress resulting from their ordeal, which may contribute to a weakened immune response,” Jason explains.

Canadian Red Cross nurse Joan Brooks fills prescription for patient at a mobile clinic in the community of Moline. Nicole Robicheau/IFRC

The Red Cross mobile medical unit includes a team leader, two medical doctors, two nurses, an expert in psychosocial support and another in community health. All are from the Canadian and French Red Cross and work in support of the Haiti Red Cross. Their mission is carried out in close cooperation with the Ministry of Public Health.

The mobile nature and structure of the clinic allows the Red Cross to provide emergency health services to communities that are isolated and where local clinics are either non-existent or have been crippled or destroyed by Hurricane Matthew.

Red Cross volunteer helps patient come to get registered at a mobile clinic in the town of Moline. Nicole Robicheau/IFRC

As the mobile team attends to patients in Moline, Haiti Red Cross volunteers and the team’s community health leader meet with groups villagers to raise awareness about cholera and how to prevent its spread.

French Red Cross doctor Aleth Abidine examines young girl at a mobile clinic in the community of Moline (Photo: Nicole Robicheau/IFRC)

Meanwhile, Emilie Gauthier-Pare, an expert in psychosocial support from the Canadian Red Cross, offers support to people traumatized from the hurricane.

“Many of these people have seen their belongings, their crops and their homes disappear in front of their eyes,” says Emilie. “Their entire lives changed overnight and it is extremely difficult for them to cope with that.”

In order to better serve the Haitian people and to prevent overlap, the travel schedule of the Red Cross clinic is made in coordination with local health services providers and the Ministry of Public Health.

French Red Cross Doctor Aleth Abidine at a mobile clinic in the community of mobile going through the crowd of people gathered to seek treatment to select people who appear to be the most in need of medical services in order to help them first. Nicole Robicheau/IFRC

The day after the visit to Moline, the medical team travels to the remote storm-hit village of Fond d’Icaque, in the commune of Corail and treats another 151 persons.

“Wherever the clinic goes, the line-up of awaiting patients shows the extent of the damage and the depth of the needs of people who survived,” says Emilie.

The Canadian Red Cross runs the mobile clinic with the support of the Government of Canada, which deploys around the world during major emergencies. Prior to Haiti, it was operating in Ecuador following the recent earthquake there.