By Scott C. Nelson ’96
Shipping containers are a lifeline for many mission hospitals. At Hôpital Adventiste d’Haiti (HAH), we use local materials, labor, and support local businesses as much as possible, but certain equipment and supplies must be sourced from abroad in order to achieve our mission, “to provide high quality care for all classes of people.” Over the past several years our hospital has been undergoing a complete makeover. Not only is our physical space being transformed, but administrative processes and supply chain issues are also making great strides. These advancements have been essential in keeping our hospital running at full capacity in one of the most challenging environments anywhere. These improvements are timely as the challenges around us have continued to increase.
On Aug. 14, 2021, another large earthquake struck a nearby region in Haiti, taking over 2,000 lives and injuring countless more. HAH was positioned and supplied to meet the hurting patients as they poured in. The reputation of our hospital exploded—in a good way! Our patient volume has remained more than double what it was before this tragedy. This great news has not been without its challenges. Compounding the difficulties brought by the earthquake, the gangster stronghold between us and the center of Port au Prince has prevented patients from accessing other health care facilities, and many are now diverted to us. The safety issues also affect supply chains and the ability to get oxygen and fuel for generators. Many other nearby facilities are either barely functioning or have closed completely. But due to perseverance and the Lord’s blessings, HAH continues to flourish.
Having supplies and functioning equipment is key. Just after receiving our last container in April 2021, we started making plans for another. The sourcing, storing, organizing, and packing of a container is no small job. Shipping containers come in various sizes, typically either 20 or 40 feet long with the high cube option that adds an additional 18 inches of headroom to the standard 8 foot height. Buying, renting, packing, shipping, and unpacking containers is always a challenge for those of us that are not in the specific business of doing that full time. I would like to recognize the staff at the Global Health Institute (GHI) and others who help us, and other mission hospitals, with this process. This time though, some special circumstances conspired to accelerate the packing of a container for HAH. In July 2021, the security situation in Haiti deteriorated to a new low, and several of our volunteers, including Tim Cleveland, CPO, SAHP ’15, and his wife, Annika, MSN, SN ’15, had to precipitously leave the country. This unfortunate circumstance was turned into an amazing blessing when they volunteered to continue their service in the GHI warehouse and pack a container for HAH.
The mission hospital container can be both a blessing and a curse. Often items are sent based on availability rather than need, and rarely do the people packing them have a complete understanding of what will be most useful. Once containers arrive at their destination, they often become depots of disorganized, dirty, and deteriorating materials. We have four on our property, and over the past several years, we have spent a significant amount of time organizing and cleaning these containers out to avoid hoarding a bunch of useless supplies. This is hard and dirty work and the ambient temperature inside of these containers can be stifling.
Tim and Annika, with the support of the GHI team, did an incredible job of hand picking needed items, sourcing materials, packing, crating, and inventorying. After six weeks of full-time work in the GHI warehouse, the container doors were sealed, and the container was sent to Long Beach to be floated through the Panama Canal and onward to Port au Prince. Normally, this is a three-week process, but due to multiple shipping delays, the container finally arrived in port about three months later.
Then began the arduous process of clearing customs. This involved another three months and some additional expenses. Once it cleared customs, the container was sitting just five miles away from HAH on a rented chassis, awaiting transfer. The most challenging part, however, was yet to come. How does one get a container around or through the gangster stronghold without being perforated by bullets or hijacked? All options were considered: hazard pay for drivers willing to brave the gangsters, unpacking items and driving through the rough mountain road, or putting the container on a boat and floating it across the bay to a place where it could be safely driven to the hospital. The last option finally worked out with the collaboration of a Seventh-day Adventist port official who was able to help us access a barge. What a blessing! Nearly nine months after Tim and Annika sealed the doors, the container was backed down our loading ramp at HAH. Coincidentally, Tim had returned for a one-week visit to HAH and was able to help unpack the items. It arrived on a Sabbath afternoon, the last day before Tim left. Once the sun went down, we solicited the help of a few employees and unpacked the entire container before daybreak. It actually turned out to be an ideal time for container unloading since the intense tropical sunlight was not an issue.
We still have a huge job ahead of us to distribute, install, and organize the thousands of individual items, but we know that it will take our hospital to another level, helping to relieve suffering and bringing glory to God.
We so appreciate the help and financial contributions of the Alumni Association toward this project, which facilitated the delivery of hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment and supplies. This container will have a profound impact on our facility and our patients for years to come. Thank you.
INSIDE THE CONTAINER
While all the items in the shipping container will make a difference at HAH, here are Dr. Nelson’s top ten most exciting items:
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- C-arm—an intra-operative X-ray unit donated by Arrowhead Orthopedics in honor of Gary K. Frykman ’65
- Two commercial washer dryer units
- Three gurneys—much needed to handle the increased volume of trauma coming into our ER and OR
- Anesthesia machine—this completes the upgrade of our three operating rooms
- Patient monitors—thanks to the clinical engineering department at LLU, we now have the monitoring equipment for our planned ICU
- Cabinetry, chairs, and other equipment—for the forthcoming dental, ENT, and eye clinic
- Jackhammer—there is always a major construction project in process
- Total joint replacement implants and several orthopedic tools—60% of our surgical volume is orthopedics
- New crutches—Each pair is about $10 US and we bought $10,000 worth
- Office furniture and chairs—essential for our nurses, lab, and administrative staff
Dr. Nelson is an associate professor of orthopedic surgery at LLU. He and his wife, Marni, moved to Haiti in 2018 where he has worked to develop a global campus site for LLU at Hôpital Adventiste d’Haiti.