Raoul Works to Rebuild Haitian Childrens Hospital
It has been over a year since Haiti was devastated by a catastrophic 7.0 earthquake. State Senator Kwame Raoul (13th) recently traveled to the country, with a Chicago-based coalition, to help restore one of its facilities, Grace Childrens Hospital (GCH). Children of Haiti will be given necessary care and services once the medical institution is rebuilt. Sen. Raoul, who is a board member with the Chicago affiliate of International Child Care, went to Haiti with seven other supporters this past February.
For Senator Raoul, helping to improve the quality of life for Haitians in the wake of the earthquake is a personal commitment. He was born in Chicago to Haitian-born immigrants. His father practiced medicine and made house calls to indigent people across Chicago. Sen. Raoul also has family members living in Haiti.
It is important for all of us to realize the devastation from the earthquake in Haiti is still making life very hard for the entire nation, Raoul said. It was valuable and productive for an Illinois based group to take a hands-on approach to rebuilding this hospital in the poorest country in our hemisphere.
Chicagos Childrens Memorial Hospital (CMH) was also part of the alliance and together with the coalition brought 600 pounds of donated medical supplies. "Children's Memorial Hospital is currently building a new children's hospital, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, opening June, 2012. Our vision is to share that experience in helping plan, construct and operate a Haitian-driven and sustained women and childrens hospital and outreach health delivery system, said Bruce Komiske, Chief of Design and Construction at Lurie Childrens. "The goal of this alliance is to significantly improve the health status of all Haitian children within the next five years with the hope that the process becomes a model for other developing countries."
Some of the trips highlights were visiting tent camps serviced by International Child Care, offering guidance and consultation regarding the design and build of GCH, assessing the impact of earthquake on staff and patients and identifying educational needs for medical, nursing and community health workers.
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