Медицинский центр в Фонд-Паришене ищет врачей и медсестер для возвращения в Гаити

Overview: A medical center in Fonds-Parisien, a rural border town, is recruiting doctors, nurses and other health professionals, including former TPS holders considering returning to Haiti, to keep pace with growing demand and expanding services. FONDS-PARISIEN, Haiti — As Haitians in the United States grapple with the end of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a rural medical center in Haiti is seeking to recruit specialty doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals who may be considering returning to Haiti. Administrators of the 125-bed Higgins Brothers Surgicenter for Hope in Fonds-Parisien, an 80-minute drive east of Port-au-Prince, say they need anesthesiologists, internal medicine specialists, pediatricians, infectious disease doctors, nurses and other health professionals to keep pace with growing demand. Operated by the U.S.-based nonprofit Higgins Brothers Foundation, the community hospital serves about 1,600 patients per month. Dr. Edward “Ted” Higgins, founder and chairman of Higgins Brothers Surgicenter, said working there is one pathway for Haitians reconsidering their futures in the United States. “We are offering well-trained professionals a great opportunity to apply the experience gained abroad in their country, where healthcare services remain severely limited and medical facilities face persistent shortages of qualified personnel,” Higgins said in a recent interview with The Haitian Times. The hospital recruitment is the latest example of efforts encouraging Haitians facing immigration status difficulties in the U.S. to consider returning to Haiti as a viable alternative that can have long-term impact on the country. “The goal is to turn that potential return into opportunities and expand access to healthcare for communities that have long struggled to obtain it,” Dr. Jacques Peterson Thosiac, the facility’s chief surgeon, said. In a job listing, the institution specifies the positions available, candidate profile, application process, deadline and contact information. It also states that it offers a professional, dynamic work environment with opportunities for professional development and continuous training, while contributing to a mission with significant community health impact. Overall, the facility’s administrators say they are ready to welcome qualified Haitian medical workers who have built careers in the U.S. and apply their training while filling critical gaps in the country’s healthcare system. “This is great news,” said Karyll Hyacinthe, founder and chairman of dyaspora.ht, a recently formed digital platform that aims to connect Haitians worldwide who seek to share skills, resources and ideas to pull Haiti out of its crises. “Any company or organization with such ideas can only benefit Haitians as long as decision-making is equitable,” added Hyacinthe, an Atlanta-based wealth management specialist. “Salaries and benefits should be [equal] among employees, whether they are returning from abroad or already living in Haiti.” Monthly salaries advertised for in-demand professionals at the Fonds-Parisien hospital range from $2,000 to $4,000, according to Dr. Dieunord Saint Louis, the institution’s medical director. The amount is significantly higher than the salaries posted for Haiti’s healthcare system overall, which available data show is between $500 and $1,500 per month. An expansion decades in the making The hospital, located about eight miles west of Malpasse, a major Haiti-Dominican Republic border crossing, has grown substantially since opening about a decade ago. Initially, a faith-based diaspora-led organization, Haitian Christian Mission (HCM), founded and operated the hospital as Christ for All Medical Center. Financial difficulties in 2020 prompted the organization to consider closing it, Higgins said. Higgins Brothers Surgicenter for Hope subsequently took over the clinic, changed staff and renovated the facility. Higgins, who is based in Missouri, and volunteer surgical teams began traveling regularly to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake to provide care and train Haitian surgical residents from the State University of Haiti Hospital (HUEH) as well as operating-room nurses. By 2018, several surgical and anesthesia residents who had trained with the teams were nearing the end of their training. Higgins offered them opportunities to continue practicing at the Fonds-Parisien facility rather than leave Haiti. Several of those physicians are now among the center’s roughly 100 employees, Higgins said. It has since grown into a broader facility offering medical, pediatric, maternity and urological care, HIV treatment, dental care and laboratory, rehabilitation and 24-hour emergency services. Of its nearly 125 beds across its campus, 25 are surgical, 12 maternity and 20 medical. Another eight to 10 pediatric beds are expected after the unit is renovated. In 2024, the center performed nearly 400 surgical procedures, provided almost 12,000 medical consultations and treated more than 2,100 emergency patients, Higgins said. Across all departments, the facility sees about 1,200 to 1,600 patients each month, Higgins said. In July alone, it performed more than 100 surgeries, its highest single-month total, administrators said. The expansion has increased demand for medical staff and housing. The organization is building additional residences for professionals who plan to stay long-term. A new medical building, part of a $4.3 million expansion plan over the past four years, provides additional space for clinics, while a 22-unit dormitory allows doctors and nurses to remain on call around the clock for emergencies. “We are building residences and continue working on a long-term housing project to accommodate medical professionals who are planning on staying with us,” Higgins said, highlighting that the hospital runs on a $1.3 to $1.5 million annual budget, with salaries being a major portion. The institution’s operations are largely funded privately through individual and organizational donations, fundraising campaigns and events, plus small patient service fees from those who can pay. The housing project includes a program that provides employees with $40,000 through a 50-50 grant-and-loan plan to build their own homes within the community. Higgins said the $20,000 loan portion is repaid through incremental paycheck deductions. “This is a very popular program,” Higgins said. But with Fonds-Parisien being 18 miles east of major areas affected by gang activity, including National Road 8 and Croix-des-Bouquets — a stronghold of the 400 Mawozo gang led by notorious Wilson “Lanmò San Jou” Joseph — security is a major concern. Thosiac and Saint Louis said they have a private security system in place to keep the community safe, including collaboration with the Haitian National Police (PNH), private security firm and well-trained personnel operating 24/7. “Our private security force of police has saved us from attacks and built a strong community vigilante force,” Higgins told The Haitian Times. The need for staff comes as insecurity, displacement and limited access to basic services continue to strain Haiti’s healthcare system. Health facilities have repeatedly suspended operations or reduced services in areas affected by armed groups, including the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, parts of the lower Artibonite Department and Mirebalais in the Centre Department. Patients have also struggled to reach hospitals as armed groups control or disrupt major roads. In some areas, hospitals have closed or significantly reduced their operations. Despite those challenges, Higgins said the Fonds-Parisien center continues to receive patients from the Port-au-Prince area and beyond. “We basically need additional professionals to fill in vacancies in nearly all departments,” Thosiac said. “We are seeking Haitian providers returning to Haiti who wish to live in our safe and secure community of Fonds-Parisien,” Thosiac said. “The Fonds-Parisien facility is positioning itself as a favorable destination for them.”