First Impressions of Haiti from UUSC’s Second Medical Trip

The following blog post was written by Tammy Webb, a physician assistant and participant on UUSC’s second medical trip to Haiti, which is taking place May 15–20. The medical professionals on the trip are working with UUSC partners to administer essential health care to Haitians in Port-au-Prince in a variety of clinical settings.

We drove through the obvious poverty in Port-au-Prince on roads that would probably not be considered passable in the United States. We arrived at the Association for the Promotion of Integral Family Healthcare (APROSIFA), where patients were already waiting. The staff people were very gracious. I spent the day seeing women with primarily OB/GYN complaints. With a registered  nurse, an interpreter, and myself in a very tiny room, we saw mostly pregnant women. For many of the women, who ranged from two to seven months pregnant, this was the only prenatal visit that they would receive.

In many ways, they were similar to the patients I see in the United States: anxious and nervous about their health and the health of their baby, scared about having a pelvic exam for the first time. The differences, though, were striking. These patients have no or limited opportunities for follow-up, and they have life stresses that are almost impossible to comprehend. Along with the nausea and vomiting caused by pregnancy, I saw a young pregnant woman who most likely has breast cancer, which has no treatment options here, and another woman with serious vaginal bleeding whom I had little to offer. But I was able to provide good prenatal care for many women and treat a number of illnesses that would have gone untreated. The women seemed truly grateful for the care. I was honored to be able to help even in a small way.