Haiti - Humanitarian : Donation of one million dollars of medical supplies for the hospital of Mirebalais
Covidien a leading global provider of healthcare products, this week announced an additional $1 million in-kind contribution to non-profit Partners In Health (PIH) to provide medical supplies for a new, state-of-the-art hospital in Mirebalais, Haiti, that is scheduled to open in the first half of 2012.
Covidien and its employees previously donated more than $2.5 million in cash to PIH following the January 2010 earthquake that ravaged Haiti, killing more than 200,000 people and destroying most of the island nation’s healthcare infrastructure. This initial Covidien donation helped fund construction of Mirebalais' new public hospital and medical training center. The cumulative $3.5 million donation to PIH, a Boston-based international medical organization, is the largest gift ever awarded to any single project by the Covidien Partnership for Neighborhood Wellness, a philanthropic program created by Covidien to help improve access to quality, affordable healthcare around the world.
Mirebalais Hospital will be the largest public teaching hospital in Haiti outside the capital and will offer services unavailable anywhere else in the country. At a time when Haiti desperately needs skilled medical professionals, Mirebalais Hospital also will provide high-quality education for the next generation of Haitian nurses, medical students and physicians.
"Thanks to Covidien's support, Partners In Health and the Haitian Ministry of Health and Population are nearing completion of a first-class 320-bed teaching hospital in the middle of rural Haiti," said Dr. Paul Farmer, PIH co-founder. "We're especially grateful that, in addition to helping us get the hospital up and running, Covidien has offered to provide key medical supplies for years to come. It's long-term partnerships like this that can help Haiti build back better."
