Peredo Community Hospital Launches Heart Institute Initiative
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Haitian Christian Outreach
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“If I cannot teach, I will die.” This statement, made by Dr. Gedeon Gelin the first time we spoke, sums up the passion this man has for the gift God has given him. Dr. Gelin, a Haitian Cardiologist from Port au Prince, has been a close friend of RoRo for many years. When RoRo introduced me to Dr. Gelin I was immediately taken aback by this man’s urgent need to help medical professionals and patients alike learn how to care for hearts. Immediately it brought to mind Proverbs 4:23 when the author tells us to guard our hearts above all else because everything we do flows from it. While I understand this means to speak of the purity of heart, I think it can also mean the physical condition of your heart. If our heart’s condition is deteriorating, so will the rest of our body.
Throughout the conversation, Dr. Gelin explained he had been teaching and practicing medicine in Port au Prince since 1992. Yet with the rise of Cardiovascular Disease in the country and the increasing violence in Port au Prince, in order to continue his mission he needed to be in a more rural area of the country. He had seen the hospitals in the capital move, stop taking new patients, and even close because of the reality of the violence. He recognized that our health needs do not stop because of violence or lack of a facility. Though he understands why others leave the country, he refused to leave his home and knows this is where God has called him to serve. It was then that he introduced his vision for a Heart Institute to be run out of the Peredo Community Hospital.
In a study published in 2020 by BMC Public Health, it was found that Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) is now the leading cause of death in Haitian adults under the age of 50. With risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, poverty, food insecurity, stress, depression, isolation, and others so prevalent in Haiti, it is no wonder this study, among other findings, found extremely high percentages of early-onset hypertension among those 18-25 years of age. These findings weigh heavy on the mind and heart of Dr. Gelin each day as he sees patients.
After much discussion and seeing the undeniable need, the Peredo Community Hospital has welcomed the expertise, the passion, and the vision of Dr. Gelin. We are happy to announce our collaboration to serve the South and Southeast departments of Haiti with the Peredo Community Hospital Heart Institute. This initiative, though purposely slow and steady, will start with the implementation of a diagnostic training program for the current medical staff of PCH and those in the Southeast. This will parallel with an education program for patients. Dr. Gelin, like many, believes better health and better care both start with education. By educating the medical professionals on diagnostic testing such as EKG (recording of electrical signals of the heart) and Echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart), patients can be monitored and treated for heart disease more effectively and efficiently. By educating patients on better heart health (specific to Haitians), his hope is to be able to reduce the percentage of the population dying from CVD each year.
RoRo has always said he believes God intended the Peredo Community Hospital to be a teaching hospital. The goals of the Heart institute align perfectly with that vision! Ultimately, the Heart Institute will provide emergency cardiac course training, a rigorous post-graduate training course in general cardiology, implement Local Healthy Heart programs in the surrounding communities, partner with local Ministry of Health representatives to organize workshops in schools, and more!
Please join HCO and the Peredo Community Hospital in welcoming Dr. Gedeon Gelin! And please join us in making the Peredo Community Hospital Heart Institute a success! Here are a few ways you can help guard and heal hearts at the Peredo Community Hospital:
- Help purchase necessary medications for those at risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by providing a recurring gift! Please visit the following link, click recurring donation, and then look for Health Care under “My gift is for…” https://haitianchristian.org/get-involved/give-now/
- Give to the Peredo Community Hospital fund to purchase a needed piece of equipment to make the training and diagnostic programming a success! Some examples of equipment needed include an Ultrasound machine with cardiac probes (approx. $9,000.00), an EKG machine with paper and leads (approx. $800 including shipping), halter monitors, an additional x-ray machine, spirometers, etc. Please visit the following link, click recurring donation, and then look for Peredo Community Hospital under “My gift is for…” https://haitianchristian.org/get-involved/give-now/
- Pray for all those who God is preparing to be treated at the PCH and for all of our doctors, nurses, and staff as they embark on this new initiative being led by Dr. Gelin. Please pray that God’s provision finds its way to Peredo and those who are willing to serve in this way are blessed from the joy that follows!
And as always, we thank you for helping us to continue to do something in Haiti that lasts!
Megan Schreiber, US Director
Haitian Christian Outreach
