Thursday, January 31, 2013

Paved Streets in Pignon

For those of you that have not been to Pignon in the past few months or year, there have been some big changes.  The Streets are paved and what a huge difference that has made.  This is a good thing that will take some adjusting to and some change.
There is a great deal less dust floating around, dust that is not covering everything not getting into delicate equipment and computers in the hospital or at schools and in peoples homes.  There is no or very little burning of trash in streets, in fact in the two weeks that I was in Pignon this past Jan I saw no burning.  You will find very few animals wondering freely around Pignon they are now kept on peoples property. You will see more vehicles driving in town, driving faster than they use to drive on the bumpy dirt roads. This is where the bad comes to play.  Although people are trying to adjust, trying to change the way they have lived all their lives, change is hard, children do not always understand the consequences of playing in the same street they played in before it was paved, there are no slow traffic signs and no stop signs more accidents have and will  happen. When you in Pignon please keep these things in mind. Watch for fast moving motorcycles and vehicles, please  walk on the sidewalks and encourage the children to stay off the streets. 













Sunday, January 27, 2013

Eyes are the windows to the Soul

Tim Poppen was in Haiti recently. These beautiful pictures were taken by Tim and members of his team.






Sunday, January 20, 2013

Fargo- Moorhead Medical Team Jan 5-12 2013

The Fargo-Moorhead Medical team had a busy and productive week working at the hospital in Pignon.  ( Jan 5-12, 2013) The team found many changes and progress since their last visit in Jan 2012 including a newly painted hospital and paved streeets.

The team consisted of 17 members,  5 surgeons, 5 CRNA's, 5 Registered Nurses and 2 support staff members.  The team did many procedures including laparscopic cholecystectomies,  hernia repairs, hysterectomies, breast mass excisions and thyroidectomies

There was also free time to do activities outside the hospital including a tour given by Larry Madole, a visit the farm where the team distributed over 40 goats,  a visit to a rural clinic outside of Pignon, a visit to an orphanage, a school and a pre-dawn climb Mount Pignon to watch the sun come up.  Below are some of pictures highlighting the week.











Promise For Haiti Board meeting

The Promise For Haiti Board meeting was held in Pignon Jan 4th and 5th 2013
Below are some pictures from a very productive meeting.

Dr Marvin Lloyd was honored for his service to CMP and PFH.

Denny Brand accepted the award for Jim Mettzelaar for his years of service to CMP and PFH

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Fargo-Moorhead Medical Team does Anesthesia teaching


The Fargo-Moorhead Medical team has just returned from a wonderful week in Pignon. There will be more stories to share in the near future but below are pictures of team members ( Nurse Anesthetists)  doing teaching with the Anesthesia staff at the hospital.