Programs: International Medical Corps
Announced:
January 7, 2011
Category:
Facilitating Job Training & Workforce Development
Fund Amount: $1,564,988 Grant
Disbursed to Date: $408,490
In this video, experience the powerful work of the doctors & nurses
who are gaining emergency medical care skills and saving lives.
See more in the International Medical Corps Photo Gallery.
The International Medical Corps EMCD program is a tested package of interventions designed to build and strengthen emergency trauma and medical care in low and middle-income settings. The EMCD program aims to improve country wide or regional level emergency medical care, and elevate it to international standards via a tested combination of technical assistance, training, and capacity building.
Specifically, funds will be used to:
- Develop an Emergency Medical Care Working Group (EMCWG).
- Establish an Emergency Medicine Center of Excellence at HUEH.
- Provide training courses in emergency medical care at HUEH that meet international standards.
- Improve HUEH's capacity for emergency response to disaster events.
- Strengthen Health Information Systems (HIS) for injury surveillance and emergency medicine at HUEH.
The National Center of Excellence would train Haitian nationals to provide up-to-date emergency medical care and provide a sustainable core of practitioners to support emergency care into the future. The direct beneficiaries from training will be a minimum of 50 physicians and 100 nurses from HUEH and surrounding hospitals. These health care workers would gain the skills and knowledge to provide quality services to patients in critical condition, including a large percentage of the estimated 100,000 HUEH patients visiting the ER on an annual basis.
Fast Company explains that International Medical Corps is "a model for global not-for-profits, with a plan that goes way beyond drop-in disaster relief. In Haiti, it is training locals, building communities, and doing everything it can to put itself to pasture." Read the whole article: International Medical Corps Helps Haiti In Its Long Haul.
Program Update
Thanks to the emergency training they are receiving, doctors and nurses are already making use of their new skills. This summer, Dr. Vital Herve implemented a technique known as pericardiocentesis, one he had just lerned in the course to save a patient's life. "Without the International Medical Corps course I would not have known what to do; I cannot thank them enough," Dr. Herve explained.
Why We Invested in the International Medical Corps
Clinton Bush Haiti Fund's grant to International Medical Corps reflects our commitment to job creation and training, to building Haiti's institutional capacity, and to filling critical near-term gaps that pave the way for longer-term reconstruction.
Transforming Lives and Livelihoods
IMC’s EMCD program is expected to improve the quality of emergency care for Haitians, while developing Haiti’s health care workforce and institutional capacity. The program will:
- Provide training in emergency medical care for 50 Haitian doctors and 100 Haitian nurses.
- Improve the quality of care provided to over 100,000 Haitians who require HUEH’s emergency care services every year.
- Build Haitian capacity for emergency medicine, which is critical to respond to future disasters and prevent widespread disabilities from every-day accidents.
About International Medical Corps
International Medical Corps is a global humanitarian, non-profit organization dedicated to saving lives and relieving suffering through humanitarian assistance and development programs. In Haiti, IMC deployed its Emergency Response Team to Port au-Prince within 22 hours of the earthquake. With support from donors, including CBHF, IMC provided medical care to more than 73,000 Haitians through 16 mobile clinics and the 700-bed HUEH. By request of hospital administrators, IMC also became the lead agency coordinating the non-governmental organizations and volunteers working at HUEH. Its EMCD program has been successfully implemented in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Azerbaijan, Indonesia and Iraq. Learn more about International Medical Corps' work at internationalmedicalcorps.org.
