Maine Surgeons Invest in Healthy Change in Haiti

While food shortages in Haiti are making news, two local surgeons are working for sustainable change in the under-resourced health delivery system of this impoverished nation.

Earlier this year, doctors Sam Broaddus and Brad Cushing, volunteers with Maine-based Konbit Sante Cap-Haitien Health Partnership completed a comprehensive analysis of surgical capacity at the Hôpital Universitaire Justinien (Justinian Hospital) in Cap- Haitien, Haiti. The goal was to understand and improve surgical care in the northern region of the country, an area of more than 825,000 people.

Broaddus, senior partner at Portland Urologic Associates, and a resident of Gorham, and Cushing, chief of surgery at Maine Medical Center and a resident of Cape Elizabeth, worked side by side with their counterparts in Cap-Haitien, evaluating everything from surgical staffing levels and operating room equipment, infrastructure and surgical inventories to infection control and surgical resident education. Dr. Broaddus has worked as a urological volunteer in developing countries for more than 25 years and has made ten trips to Haiti. This was Dr. Cushing’s first trip to Haiti.

“In addition to making on-site improvements,” says Broaddus, “we also felt that training opportunities in Maine could significantly promote—and speed—positive change in surgical care at the Justinian Hospital. Professional exchanges connect health providers on a very personal level. I know what the health conditions are like in Haiti; I know how resource-poor Haitian surgeons struggle to deliver even a basic level of surgical care. This is our opportunity to step up to the plate and help our Haitian colleagues.”

Dr. Jerry Bernard, fourth year surgical resident at Justinian Hospital, arrived in Portland on May 30th. He is the first of two Haitian resident physicians who will visit this summer for six-week surgical rotations, generously sponsored by Drs. Broaddus and Cushing, under the auspices of the Maine Medical Center Department of Surgery’s International Program and Konbit Sante. The Haitian doctors attend daily rounds with MMC surgical house staff, observe surgical procedures, and participate in educational conferences. In addition, they are meeting with non-clinical professionals to learn about organizational aspects of running a high-quality surgical service.