Hôpital Albert Schweitzer (HAS)

The story of Hôpital Albert Schweitzer in Haiti is the story of a midlife crisis.  At age thirty-seven, William Larimer Mellon, trust recipient of the wealthy Pittsburgh banking and Gulf Oil family, decided to leave ranching in Arizona and establish a medical center based on Dr. Albert Schweitzer's hospital in Lambaréné, Gabon, West Africa.  Never having completed a college degree, and being of non-traditional age, he had many long hard hours of study, but received his M.D. from Tulane University in new Orleans in 1953.  To assist him, his wife Gwen trained in laboratory and medical technology.  By the time of his graduation they had negotiated a lease from the Haitian government for the site of the former Standard Fruit Company plantation in the central Artibonite River valley.  In 1956 they opened an 108-bed hospital which in spite of political instability has continuously served the 20 x 30 mile district with its current population of over 300, 000.

The mission of HAS is to "Collaborate with the people in its District of the Artibonite Valley as they strive to improve their health and quality of life." (HAS website) The Mellons adopted Dr. Schweitzer's motto: "Reverence for life." And as quoted by Barry Paris, Song of Haiti, their philosophy was "Try to understand them, even if you don't believe what they believe."

Until Dr. Mellon's death in 1989 HAS was funded principally from his trust fund, and small reimbursements by the patients. In addition to patient contributions, the hospital now depends mainly upon donations administered through the Grant Foundation, named in honor of Gwen Grant Mellon.  Mrs. Mellon died in late 2000, and it was disappointing not to have met this dedicated, energetic woman who at age 88 was still actively interested in all aspects of HAS, including writing letters and recruiting.  Their graves are on the HAS campus.

Staffing

HAS hospital has medical, surgical, pediatric and obstetric units, now with approximately 90% Haitian employees.  Permanent staff are supplemented by volunteer physicians, nurses, engineers, accountants, etc. who make a commitment of from 1 week to 1 year to indefinite. The closest volunteer staffing links are with the US and Europe.   

The workday is intensive

Physicians start with 7:00 a.m. teaching conference,  8:00 hospital rounds, and then see outpatients the rest of the day, with a break from 12:00 - 1:15 for lunch & a rest, hoping to finish by 5:00 or 6:00 p.m.  The admissions desk stops accepting patients when they see the day is filled; except for emergencies, the remaining patients will wait until the next day to be seen.  Physician coverage nights and weekends rotates among the available staff.  The welcome flyer cautions guest volunteers to be alert to burn out, and to remember to take some time for themselves each day.

The hospital, health centers, dispensaries and mobile clinics together average 160,000 clinic visits per year.  Diseases encountered range from those common in developed countries (eg. high blood pressure, stroke, etc.) to those more typical of tropical & underdeveloped countries (eg. malnutrition and its complication, tuberculosis, AIDS, other infections).

Supplies are precious.  Examining gloves are washed and reused once.  Used equipment, which may or may not be reparable and therefore usable, arrives from many sources.  Bill and Dr. Kiely discover that they must remove the ceiling lightbulbs and hide them in order to have light in their office the next day. Exceptional for Haiti, the hospital provides sheets, and one meal per day; the patient's family provides any other meals.

Physicians typically see more twenty patients per day. People come to the hospital dressed in their Sunday best, which often includes a stylish hat for the women.   They may take the taptap, a bis (bus), donkey, or more often walk.  The family may sleep in the room with the patient, or on the ground in the courtyard.  Patients in-district pay 25 gourdes ($1.25 US) to be seen in the outlying infirmaries, and another 25 gourdes at HAS for a total of approximately one day's wages.

 X-ray is one of the major diagnostic tools.  Limited diagnostic testing is also available from the HAS medical laboratory.

The Region

Dr. Mellon felt strongly that "the greater want goes beyond medicine," and he left much of the hospital administration to his wife in order to concentrate on community health and development. He personally oversaw the restoration of the former plantation's irrigation canals, and helped lay pipe to bring clean drinking water from the springs in the hills down into the villages.  Community Development today is working to improve agriculture, animal husbandry, reforestation and sanitation.  Community Health coordinates initial patient evaluations in nearly a dozen out-lying dispensaries, as well as offering immunizations and health education. Together these two operations utilize 200 of the approximately 475 permanent employees.

Boldface within text = photo links in progress 6.26.01