Haiti Heart Institute
Many HANDS, one HEART –
Join us TODAY in our fight for healthy HEARTS for HAITI!
“Friends, only respect for the dignity of the people of Haiti under responsible leadership at the community level can improve the quality of life of our Haitian brothers and sisters in rural areas of Haiti.” ~Dr. Gédéon GELIN, Geriatric Cardiologist
Hypertension is #1 risk factor for death
Jean Claude Gard, Jr., HAPI’s Director of Finance, puts a personal face on this statistic.
Jean Claude Junior Gard’s mother, Lauvernie Nicolas, suffered from hypertension for many years. She was treated by a doctor and took the prescribed medication. However, the doctor failed to educate her about the drug, Gard says, so “my mom stopped spending money to buy medication as she did not think it was having any effect.” Lauvernie then suffered a stroke in her sleep. Her son explains, “There was no transportation late at night to take her to the hospital. By the time she received care, she was paralyzed and there was no physical therapy available. Soon, gangrene set into her right foot, and it was amputated.” She died within a year, in January 2020. Learning of the Haiti Heart Institute, Gard states, “Training the nurses and doctors how to communicate to the patients, and also education of the population, are necessary to combat heart disease in Haiti.”
Community Health
45% of Mizak’s 400 survey participants are hypertensive; 5% diabetic. Preventative Cardiac Workers (PCW) …
Integrating clinical care with community social services
Training local nurses and doctors in clinical cardiology is central to the sustainability of cardiac care in Haiti.
Health Training
Hypertensive patients find comfort and dignified care at home.
Home in rural Haiti is often a mud and rock-walled house with a rusted tin roof, cement floor, and no water or electricity. Many homes require steep climbs up mountains or down valleys making a trip to the clinic nearly impossible for the elderly, disabled, or pregnant women in distress.
Preventative Cardiac Workers (nurses) deliver home care for hypertension in a NEW 2023 initiative designed from a 400-participant survey data across ten zones. Pictured: Fabiola Chery monitors blood pressure.
“I feel joy at every visit. If I could, I would harvest coconut palms for the nurses to make them feel happy because I feel every visit I receive adds one more day add to my life because I see that I am not alone.” ~Tondreau Naissance
Who We Are
HAPI Haiti Heart Institute (HHHI) is the innovation of Dr. Gédéon Gelin, Sorbonne Trained Geriatric Cardiologist. Joined with HAPI, we are a movement to EXTEND HAITIAN LIFE EXPECTANCY beyond 65 years by reducing or delaying death from heart disease, and, to develop national self-sufficiency in cardiac healthcare by training local nurses and physicians in the prevention, detection, and treatment of heart disease
Local Services
HAPI Haiti Heart Institute operates out of two campuses: Felisane Health Center in Mizak LaVallee and St. Paul and Timothée Heart Clinic in Cyvadier Jacmel (opening Summer 2023). Both will provide EKG, ultrasound, and echocardiography services integrated with community outreach. Each will also develop specialized services such as cardiac lab tests, stress tests, and therapy. …
Future of cardiac care
A mountaintop dream!
Break ground on a Cardiac Teaching Hospital by October 2025—Master Plan to be announced.
No functioning heart clinic exists outside of Port-au-Prince; no cardiologist physician training; no cardiac hospital; no heart surgery.
10 cardiologists serving 11 million people.
Big plans, measured steps – and a mustard seed of FAITH!
Who We Serve
1 cardiologist, 2 doctors, 3 nurses, 1 community health director, 2 Preventative Cardiac Workers - watch this number GROW!
Population (SE Dept)
Who we serve
- Underserved, resource-constrained rural populations
- Women in general and pregnant women in particular
- > age 50 years
- Southeast Department of Haiti
HAPI & Haiti Heart Institute
Joint Clinical Cardiology and Preventive Heart Disease Program
Want more information? Email Valerie Mossman-Celestin, Executive Director, valeriemcelestin@gmail.com.
Executive Director Corner
My ‘why’ from the Executive Director
In 1955, my grandmother underwent experimental aortic valve surgery. Her procedure contributed to valuable research in valve transplants—but it did nothing to mitigate heart disease that claimed her life at age 52. This year, my co-founder, Paul Prevost, died of cardiac arrest after suffering from pulmonary hypertension. Heart disease is personal.
Dr. Gédéon Gelin, a geriatric cardiologist in Haiti, and I discussed what investment in time and money could most improve the health situation in Haiti? We agreed that preventing and treating heart diseases by creating a cardiovascular corridor in the SE Department of Haiti would have the greatest impact. HAPI & Haiti Heart Institute Joint Clinical Cardiology and Preventive Heart Diseases Program was born.
As HAPI Haiti Heart Institute pursues our ethical and economic imperative of reducing cardiovascular disease, I can’t help but feel a sense of destiny. I feel my grandmother’s presence and the leading of the Holy Spirit to fulfill His command to love our neighbors and to extend the power of Christ’s healing to God’s people in Haiti.
HAPI & Haiti Heart Institute
Join us TODAY in our fight for HEALTHY HEARTS for Haiti!
www.HaitianAssets.org
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