Chargé d'Affaires Brian Shukan joined St. Luke's Foundation, the Haitian Ministry of Health, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to inaugurate the first international medical training center in Haiti.

The training center consists of two training and simulation rooms, a conference room, and an administrative meeting room. "This state-of-the-art medical training center will ensure that St. Luke staff and the greater Haitian medical community have a base to build and hone the most current skills they need to continue their vital work," said Shukan.

The construction was supported by a $500,000 grant from USAID's Office of American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA), and the facility will host its first international conference, "The Haitian Acute Care and Emergency Care Conference" on April 28 and 29.

"Continuing Medical Education (CME) is a guarantee of quality in healthcare," said St. Luke Mission medical director, Dr. Marc Edson Augustin. "The conference will be the first of many such experiences at St. Luke's new training center, furthering our primary goal of bringing quality and dignified care to the most vulnerable."

USAID/ASHA grants support the construction and purchase of equipment for medical institutions in Haiti. Additional recipients of ASHA grants include St. Boniface Haiti Foundation; Catholic Relief Services for equipment at Hospital St. Francois de Sales; Albert Schweitzer Hospital; and the International Child Care's training center and inpatient child care unit. Since 1979, ASHA grants have provided over $21 million in support to projects in Haiti.

HL/ HatiLibre