Page 148 - Demo

148 || FASHION MAGAZINE || MARCH 2015HUFH does not go in and start a new clinic, but rather assists and empowers one already in existence. HUFH provides support and training for the Haitian medical community, and this builds a medical system for Haitian medical professionals to provide medical care throughout the year, not just when HUFH volunteer teams are in the country. This constant care approach is the difference between %u201chit and run%u201d global health work and sustainable care that empowers the people of the host country to improve their system. The focus is on improving health care in Haiti over the long-term, which will ultimately be done by training and empowering the Haitian medical community. Hands Up for Haiti trips are designed to help support this work and the ongoing programs in Haiti, which are all run by Haitians.One of the goals for Hands Up for Haiti is to create sustainable eye care. On an HUFH trip, an osteoplastic surgeon taught Haitian colleagues how to perform skin grafts for scarred eyelids. When HUFH volunteers went back in December one of the ophthalmologists they taught was still doing the recommended procedures. The key for Hands Up for Haiti is the education piece; trying to empower others to take care of their health care needs. The Helping Babies Breathe program, a lifesaving technique for neonatal resuscitation, was initially taught by Hands Up for Haiti volunteers alone; now in addition to being taught by HUFH volunteers when they visit Haiti, it is also taught by Haitian medical professionals to martens, the Haitian traditional birth attendants.Haitians in the communities love the Hands Up for Haiti teams. Volunteers express that, %u201cThey often line up before dawn to get a chance to have the %u2018American%u2019 doctors help them with their medical concerns.%u201d Finding clinics to work with has never been a problem for Hands Up for Haiti - in fact it is quite the opposite. Hands Up for Haiti is continually invited to come to new clinics and locations. HUFH has learned the challenges of screening and selecting new clinics. HUFH is currently growing and maintaining local contacts in the north and northeast. Networking with local people and medical community is important. Hands Up for Haiti shares mutual challenges with groups working in other areas, they consult and strategize with others based in the south and central portions of the country. Additionally, Hands Up for Haiti is working on cervical cancer screenings and Healthy Babies Breath program on the national level.