Univers Medical Center in Ouanaminthe, Haiti
(also called “clinic”)

In response to the many needs for more and better health care in the community of Ouanaminthe (population close to 100,000) several Friends of COCINA came together and developed a plan for a new clinic. In February 2004, Mike Pieper in an architectural firm in Madison, Wisconsin, developed the drawings for what is now Univers Medical Center. Construction funding came from a few philanthropic Friends of COCINA. The COCINA Board of Directors was excited about jump-starting a new medical clinic in the same community as the Institution Univers school, because Director Hugues Bastien had local knowledge of the unmet medical-dental-optical service needs of the people in an around Ouanaminthe.

Construction of the three-story Univers Medical Center began in 2004 and was completed early in 2006. Final wiring, startup of the generator and other finishing details were completed in 2006---making the clinic ready for occupancy and for use initially by medical, dental and eye-care mission teams from the United States. In the 2006-08 time frame, a wide variety of good-quality used equipment and also brand new supplies were shipped from the U.S. in containers to the clinic to support clinic operations with one-week mission teams and later with full-time Haitian professional and support staff.

Univers Medical Center has a number of rooms that were constructed and equipped for particular purposes:

• Pharmacy

  Please view a 4-minute video about the Univers Medical Centre. CLICK HERE

• X-Ray room
• Patient reception area
• Surgery room
• Pre-op and post-op rooms
• Overnight recovery bed area
• Medical exam rooms
• Laboratory for on-site diagnostic tests (blood, urine, etc)
• Eye exam and eye procedure rooms
• Dental procedure rooms
• Maternity room and birthing room
• Guest apartment for local staff

Starting in the summer of 2006, the clinic was able to receive and accommodate medical-dental-eye care mission teams that served for a week or two. Receiving and using visiting mission teams in Univers Medical Center will continue indefinitely, even as the clinic is staffed with Haitian professionals and support staff. The clinic is especially interested in receiving visiting surgeons and other specialists who can provide services that can’t be provided by the local Haitian staff of the clinic.

Also in the summer of 2006, the clinic was able to receive about 6 one-week mission teams per year that provided services in the areas of general primary care, surgery, dentistry and primary eye care. Receiving and using visiting mission teams in Univers Medical Center will continue indefinitely---to supplement the services available from the full-time Haitian clinic staff. Specialists are especially needed on these one-week mission teams. In July, 2008 Hugues Bastien and U.S. volunteer medical consultants interviewed applicants for full-time Haitian staff in preparation for operating the clinic 5 _ days a week ( 45 hours) year-around. The Haitian staff that was hired included two doctors, several nurses, several nurse aids, a pharmacist, 2 medical technicians and support staff. Later a full-time Haitian dentist and optometrist were added to the staff. This Haitian staff and the 6 one-week mission teams per year working in the clinic provided the following services for the year ending June 2010:

• 1,345 doctor-patient consultations per month
• 36 patients per month held overnight for observation and tests
• 856 laboratory tests per month (e.g. blood, urine)
• 1,487 prescriptions per month filled by clinic pharmacy
• 157 dental patients served per month (when dentist was on staff)
• 240 optometry patients per month (when optometrist was on staff)
• 39 surgeries per week in those weeks when there was a visiting surgery mission team
  
  

Then in October 2010, Univers Medical Center Director Hugues Bastien responded to community requests and needs for UMC to expand its services hours to 24 hours per day and 7 days per week. The physicians on staff were increased from 2 to 4 to adequately provide expanded medical services in the new 24/7 operation schedule. By July 2011 the full-time local staff consisted of a total of 35 professional and support persons.

The year-around primary care clinic has opened many opportunities for expansion of primary care in Ouanaminthe and the surrounding area. It has also provided a welcome environment for visiting mission teams to conduct specialty services such as general surgeries, OB-GYN surgeries, eye cataract surgeries, physical therapy which provides major miracles for people in this area of northeast Haiti.

The ongoing operating costs of Univers Medical Center are around $350,000 per year. About one-half of these expenses can be recovered in fees charged to patients for services, supplies and medicines. The remaining expenses of about $175,000 per year have to be provided by COCINA contributors or other outside sources. The local clinic staff and administrators request your prayers, financial support and professional services on mission teams.

Please contact Hugues Bastien to learn how you can support the clinic.