Dr. James and Kyle Hall recently embarked on a trip to Haiti as part of a Presbyterian Church group from Ann Arbor, Michigan. The church group sponsored the trip, and several professionals from the University of Michigan went as well. The group traveled to Leogane, Haiti, where 200,000 people live with very limited access to healthcare services. “It’s a very different world from how we live here,” says Dr. Hall. “They practice crisis medicine, only seeking help when a problem becomes too noticeable or too debilitating to ignore.”
For Dr. Hall, the goal was to see patients and perform breast surgeries. Kyle worked as a nurse and surgical assistant. He worked closely with the hematology/oncology physician in the group, and an oncology surgeon from the University of Michigan. “We spent five days there in total, delivering care to these people,” he explains. “The first three days, we saw several patients that the local physicians wanted us to examine. From there, the oncology surgeon and I decided how to maximize the amount of surgeries we could do in the two days we had left. We performed 27 surgeries in those last two days.”
Not only did Dr. Hall represent Logansport Memorial Hospital as he cared for these women, but he also brought donated medicines and supplies provided by the hospital. “There was a significant amount of medicines that we were able to take with us, and some other supplies and bed sheets from LMH. An organization called “Project HOPE” was also involved with the trip, and they were able to procure the other medicines and supplies needed to make this trip possible. All in all, I think we took almost ten full duffle bags with us down to Haiti.”
The supplies were donated to the local hospital and used for the surgeries that Dr. Hall performed. What wasn’t used during this trip will be used there as they need it. “It was wonderful that LMH was willing to provide these supplies and support us on this trip to Haiti. The lab also donated supplies and use of equipment as the pathologists donated their time to process specimens that we brought back to test,” says Dr. Hall. “The University of Michigan and medical professionals there are really seeking to establish a relationship with this hospital in Haiti, so that medical services can continue to be provided like this. It’s very rewarding and very humbling to be able to be part of that effort, and I was happy to represent Logansport Memorial Hospital on that team.”
