NP Students in Leogane, Haiti
On January 12, 2010, a devastating earthquake crumbled Haiti. What little there was to what could be called a health care system before the earthquake was crushed, along with a school of nursing that collapsed with its nursing students and faculty inside. Some tried to remain hopeful that this disaster could herald the development of a better health care system with the rebuilding of Haiti and its health care workforce.
While the health care system is still almost nonexistent, the first family nurse practitioner program in the country has opened with the help of an organization called Promoting Health in Haiti, supported in part by Hunter College and its school of nursing. This visionary initiative promises to build a community-based primary care workforce that focuses on rebuilding the health and wellbeing of individuals, families, and the nation.
Last night on Healthstyles, on WBAI (99.5FM), producer and moderator Diana Mason, PhD, RN, interviewed the president and vice president of Promoting Health in Haiti—Carol Roye, PhD, RN, FAAN, and Carmelle Bellefleur, EdD, RN—about their vision for this initiative, the challenges it addresses, and the future of health care in Haiti. Click here to listen to the program anytime:
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Healthstyles is sponsored by the Center for Health, Media & Policy at Hunter College, City University of New York.
