Health Care

Health Care

In 1995, St. Francis parishioner and pharmacist Dr. Frank Nice visited Leon, along with Father Worch and other St. Francis parishioners.  Seeing the medical needs in Haiti he worked at putting together a medical team to set up a health clinic the following year. That began our medical mission program which has now grown to five week-long clinics each year.  Each week, the medical teams see between 800 and 1,000 patients, who would otherwise have no access to health care.  The providers on the teams always pay all their own costs, so that everything donated by St. Francis goes to pay for medications and treatments for the people of St. Paul’s.  In 2015, well over $60,000 went to support these medical missions.

The St. Francis of Assisi Health Care Mission

For more then twenty years, St. Francis’ medical mission in Leon, Haiti has been saving lives by primary medical intervention—delivering healthcare to approximately 4,500 patients a year via five one-week medical missions, filling more than 20,000 prescriptions annually, and supporting patient follow-up at the local clinic to ensure continuity of care between missions.  Through this work, which continues to this very day, the St. Francis community is bringing healing and hope to The Conversion of St. Paul – our sister parish in Haiti.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere; 75% of Haitians do not have access to safe drinking water, the average Haitian adult has three years of education, and 40% of the Haitian population does not have access to primary healthcare.  For the vast majority of the patients, the medical missions are the only access to healthcare.

The medical mission understands the vital importance of collaboration with the community we serve and coordinates efforts with local leaders in Haiti including the Catholic clergy, hospital directors, and the provincial minister of health.  St. Paul’s priest announces the mission in advance and the community shares the notice with one another.  Most people served by the mission are St. Paul parishioners; however, healthcare is provided to all in need, regardless of denomination.

During each medical mission, the team of health care providers—pharmacists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, doctors and nurses—treat about 150 to 200 patients a day.  Conditions treated include chronic illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, and arthritis, potentially life threatening infections such as HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, high-risk pregnancies, chronic childhood malnutrition, club feet and other malformations, and acute traumatic injuries such as fractures and wounds.

The medical mission has a successful 20 year track record of providing medical care to the poor and needy in Leon and has expanded to nearly 50 volunteer physicians and support staff from the United States.  In order to bring a high level of care, the St. Francis medical mission collaborates with a number of vital partners including Health and Education for Haiti, Seattle King County Disaster Team, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, and UMES School of Pharmacy.  The Haiti Medical Missions occur five weeks per year with two or more medical teams traveling to Leon for two weeks in February, two weeks in June, and one week in October.

The St. Francis Haiti Committee works year-round to plan, organize, and facilitate the medical missions, and to fund-raise for the program. The majority of the funds used in the missions come from the generosity of St. Francis parishioners, but also from grants from the Petit Family Charitable Foundation and other organizations, as well as special events put on throughout the year such as FRED’s Hoops for Haiti, the Knights of Columbus Spaghetti Dinner, Body of Christ Bake Sale and concerts put on by the St. Francis music ministry.