In the News
Rehabilitation training program set to begin January 2009
By Shaun Cleaver, Coordinator of Rehabilitation Services Development
Hôpital Albert Schweitzer (HAS) Haiti is known for its life-saving medical and surgical care. However for some patients, this initial miracle does not ensure a happy ending: without appropriate follow up many of the medical problems seen at HAS can leave significant disabilities in their wake. HAS is working to change this situation by establishing the first comprehensive rehabilitation system in the Artibonite Valley through the Rehabilitation Technician Training Program (RTTP).
In many countries rehabilitation is provided by health professionals such as physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists. These professions have yet to be established in Haiti . Currently HAS is leading the way by offering basic physical therapy services at the hospital through a nurse trained for that specific task. Countless patients have benefitted from these services, and now HAS is prepared to advance the program by partnering with Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO) and Friends of Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti (FHASH) to train well-rounded rehabilitation professionals and create a system that reaches many more people.
With the completion of a needs assessment done October 2007, RTTP is underway and the first students will begin their 9-month training in January of next year. Under the direction of Denise English, HVO Program Director, the committee of curriculum authors have finalized the course material and established a system for identifying students. Teachers will be licensed rehabilitation professionals, such as physical therapists and occupational therapists, and the teaching will occur in both the classroom and clinical settings. Shaun Cleaver, employed by FHASH as the Coordinator of Rehabilitation Services Development, is in Deschapelles facilitating the program's development on the ground.
All the partners – HAS, FHASH and HVO – have agreed to a three-year commitment for this program. HVO (www.hvousa.org) is a well-established US-based organization devoted to strengthening sustainable health systems in low-resource settings through the training of local health professionals. HVO brings to this partnership a wealth of expertise and connections through its significant international network. FHASH is the program's sponsor providing a strong and reliable mechanism for fundraising.
Selected graduates of this training program will become the backbone of an expanded HAS rehabilitation system providing services at remote health centers and throughout the community, seamlessly integrating with the hospital's program. In this manner, HAS will be able to provide appropriate and affordable ongoing services, close to the patient's home, for a variety of disabilities.
Rehabilitation is a service that helps people to improve their quality of life by improving their function. This service can have tremendous impact on the burden of disability by reducing the physical impact of an illness or injury. Fractures, strokes, diabetes, HIV, tuberculosis and malnutrition, all problems that are commonly seen at HAS, can leave crippling physical effects even with the provision of quality medical care. With rehabilitation included as part of the intervention, patients can return to daily life sooner and more completely.
Rehabilitation also offers significant potential at improving lives by creating opportunities for the inclusion of individuals with long-term disabilities. In Haiti , the presence of a disability can be a crisis for an individual and the supporting family. Rehabilitation intervention focuses on abilities; helping people with disabilities make the most out of the many skills they do have so they can contribute to the family unit and their community for the betterment of all. For Haitians with disabilities, this support can be the critical difference that allows one to be a valued and contributing member of the community, as opposed to becoming an outcast.
The Rehabilitation Technician Training Program is poised to have important positive effects on the health and well-being of the people in the Artibonite. Beyond this, the RTTP aspires to having a national impact by increasing awareness of the need for and benefits to be gained from a formal rehabilitation training program.