Location: Port-au-Prince
St. Damien Hospital, on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, is the only free pediatric hospital in Haiti. Funded through international donations, it has been Direct Relief partner since early 2009.
Recently built, the 120-bed hospital has up-to-date equipment and offers basic services in addition to community outreach programs. Dr. Giuseppe Riitano, an Italian general surgeon, leads the surgery ward. The hospital runs a center to treat malnutrition in children, and its facilities include a pharmacy, radiology, an emergency ward, critical care, infectious and non-infectious wards, a dental clinic, social services, and a warehouse.
The outpatient clinic treats 100 children daily. A symbolic fee of 10 cents for services is often waived for most children because parents cannot afford it. A child admitted to the emergency room stays for an average of three days, with regular hospital admissions averaging two months.
Children recovering from chronic diseases such as malnutrition or tuberculosis recuperate in the hospital’s annex, which frees up hospital beds for more urgent cases. Some of children are wards of the state; the child welfare agency investigates each case and places children in a temporary home to await adoption.
St. Damien received a Hurricane Preparedness Module for the 2009 hurricane season, designed to treat up to 1,000 people for a month for a variety of conditions. The module includes essential antibiotics, wound-care supplies, nutritional products for children and adults, oral rehydration solutions, and water purification products.